Destined Oblivion
by Sinnerstar Angel
Summary: COMPLETED! After years of preparing, Magneto is putting his plan into motion & Rogue is the key to stopping him, but will she, the XM and BH be able to survive before the oblivion Irene (a.k.a Destiny) predicts comes true? Starring Rogue, Remy, Pietro
1. Chapter 1: Forced Act

Okay, first off let me say I had to repost this fic due to 'technical difficulties', so for the people that have already reviewed, which are theroguepheonix and Remedy=Chill thank you so much! Your review are VERY appricated!  
  
My 1st fanfic! After years of preparing, Magneto is putting his plan into motion & Rogue is the key to stopping him, but will she, the XM and BH be able to survive before the oblivion Irene (a.k.a Destiny) predicts comes true? Staring Rogue, Remy, Pietro &others. PLEASE READ! Better Than it Sounds!  
  
PLEASE READ: Whaz up y'all! This is my first(you heard me), yes, my 1st XME fanfic. Anyway, I think I've got an idea of what I'm doing and right now I'm feeling very inspired for some reason. LOL! Anyway, this story is going to definitely have a bunch about Rogue (since she's one of my favs) and there is also going to be lots of Romy (Rogue + Remy) cuz I think those two are my favorite couple. There's also going to be plenty about the other X-men, the Brotherhood, and the Acolytes (Magneto's group), not to mention some Wanda revenge in later chaps. And just so y'all know if this fic were to be inserted into the XME series it would be pre Day of Recovery, but post Day of Reckoning.  
  
This story starts off kinda predictable, but after maybe the first chap or two it'll get interesting. Yes, I do add a couple of characters, but its only cuz I need them for the plot so don't write this story off just yet, k? Bare with me, this is probably going to be a long story, but once you read it all till the end I promise you won't regret it, or think it's the worst story you ever read.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the X-men: Evolution characters, the creators of X-men: Evolution (XME) do, blah, blah, blah.(y'all know the drill). Dr. Alex Vender, Flare, and Julia a.k.a Oblivion are all my creations so do not steal them or I will make sure you have a one-way ticket to down-under, and, sugah, I don't mean to Australia! (And yes I did spell sugar as sugah because dat's the way I say it, okay?) Being the Southern sweetie I am, I normally wouldn't become violent *smiles innocently*, but I am very protective of my writing creations so for all you thieves out there, I'll make an exception. LOL! All right I'll stop now and let you enjoy the story.  
  
As I said before this is my first fanfic ever so it's muy (very) important that you REVIEW so I know whether I'm good at writing or if I suck. Of course, I want you to be gentle when reviewing, but I don't care if you scorch me by sending so many flames instead of reviews, as long as someone's reading my work that's all I care about! Flames can help me become a better writer and reviews give me the drive to continue-so do both if you feel the need!  
  
Now, on with the story.welcome to the Sinnerstar Angel(Cammie)Universe, follow me and don't get lost.  
  
*,*mean dreams, personal thoughts. , mean speaking through telepathy.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Destined Oblivion  
  
Chapter 1: Forced Act  
  
"Good afternoon, Rogue," Trask said with a devious smile.  
  
The sixteen-year-old girl with auburn hair and twin white strikes on either side of her face glared up at him. She was trembling inside though her face wore a mask of pure invincibility; she didn't want to allow Trask the pleasure of seeing fear shinning in her emerald eyes.  
  
She was strapped down in a binding contraption shaped like a normal chair, only with metal bands attached to her wrists and ankles. A single hanging- lamp from the center of the ceiling lighted the room, placing light only on Rogue while Trask and a few barely visible guards stood in the shadows; there were no windows, or other chairs.  
  
"How can ya tell what time it is in this dark of a room?" Rogue asked with her Southern accent included.  
  
Trask chuckled slightly and then looked to a guard, "Bring in Danvers."  
  
The guard left the room after a short salute to his superior.  
  
"Where are mah friends?"  
  
"Oh, your accomplices? Hmm, well, you shouldn't worry about them now-you should be more apprehensive about what's going to happen to yourself," Trask advised.  
  
"An' jus' what is goin' t' happen?" Rogue asked pointedly, sending him her most intrepid glare.  
  
As soon as that question left her lips the door opened. The guard had returned, and with a young blond girl. The girl was tall, Rogue's age, with blue eyes and pale skin. She had bruises all over her face and arms as if she'd been fighting, or rather beaten. Rogue looked into the girl's eyes and saw it was apparent the blond was falling in and out of consciousness so she was not aware of much of anything.  
  
Rogue immediately wanted to help the girl and struggled to break free of her binds, but she did so in vain, the metal felt as strong as the material Wolverine's claws were created from.  
  
Another man entered the room. He was tall, his thin body covered by a white lab coat. He had graying black hair and glasses over his bloodshot eyes; the tiredness in his eyes most likely from working on experiments at all sorts of hours and using coffee as a temporary energy-boost.  
  
"Ah, Dr. Vender, so good of you to join us. Now, let the experiment begin," Trask commanded with a cold grin that sent shivers down Rogue's backbone.  
  
The middle-aged man in the white lab coat, whom Trask had called Dr. Vender, pulled out a needle from his pocket. He injected Rogue with the green substance inside the needle. As the doctor did, he whispered in Rogue's ear without Trask seeing, "Don't worry, Trask promised me he wouldn't hurt you."  
  
She looked at Dr. Vender awkwardly. *Why does he care 'bout me? Strange, he doesn't seem t' have the same hatred and careless toward me fer bein' a mutant as Trask or the guards do. *  
  
Suddenly, Rogue felt lightheaded; the drug injected into her was a sedative. Trask pressed one of the buttons on a high-technology panel located on the wall and one of Rogue's metal restraints, which had been on her left wrist, sank into the arm of the chair; the controls to the chair must have been wired to the several-button, metal panel on the wall. One of the guards took hold of Rogue's free, but gloved hand, while another held upward the hardly conscious girl; the guard pulled off the glove on her hand.  
  
Rogue knew what they wanted to do. They knew she couldn't control her powers, her absorbing ability, and they were going to use that to their advantage. They were going to force her to use those powers on a seemingly helpless girl, but why? What was the point? Before she could even create possible answers to those questions Rogue felt her bare hand forced down against the blond girl's cheek. It was awful for the girl, as it was with all of Rogue's victims, as the life was drained from her body. *No! * Rogue thought, unable to stop absorbing the girl, feeling completely powerless, in contrast to the fact her ability was seemingly more powerful than ever. Both the girls' were weak and unable to fight, so they screamed-the blond girl from the pain and Rogue from hatred of herself for not being able to control her powers and stop the girl's cause of pain.  
  
Tears poured from both their eyes. The gothic makeup Rogue used as a shield to keep people from finding her frail, or to keep anyone from ever hurting her was being washed away by her tears.  
  
Though Rogue could not think clearly during this action she did notice something; the guard that was forcing her hand, and was wearing gloves for his own protection, was told by Trask to make her absorb until she could do so no longer. Hearing this disturbed Rogue, she had never absorbed anyone for more than a couple of moments. After what felt like an eternity, Rogue passed out and her absorbing, along with the girl's screams, ceased.  
  
A/N: Okay, what did y'all think? Hate it, Love it, want to see more of it? Well, I won't know if y'all don't review, so please do! (Will be adding new chap very, very soon. By the way, sorry so short, other chaps will be longer.) -Cam :. Chao! 


	2. Chapter 2: Left Behind

First thing's first, everyone that reviewed THANK YOU VERY MUCH, every single person's review, no matter what it said, I appreciate it! I was surprised to get as many reviews as I did-even more surprised, and a bit pleased, that no one decided to flame me! And was very happy to find some reviewers' even picked out lil details from my first chap that I didn't think anyone would notice.  
  
Also, a special thanx goes to Rogue31 for informing me that my settings were programmed to only accept signed reviews, I fixed that problem as soon as I read your review, so again, thanx much! Keep in mind I'm new at this so everyone help me out as much as you can!  
  
Now, on with chap. 2, hope it's not as expected and predictable as my first chap-I'm trying to keep people interested, you know?  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 2: Left Behind  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Only moments after Rogue had blacked out, her eyes fluttered open again. Her gloves were back on, Trask must have ordered it to protect himself. She looked around for the girl she'd absorbed and her eyes found the blond lying on the floor. The girl was now so pale and inert, as unmoving as the...dead? Rogue gasped. *She can't be! No, they couldn't have made me! Oh mah god! Ah'm a murderer. Ah killed her! *  
  
"How do you feel?" Trask asked, his grin as proud and malicious at what he'd accomplished as it had been since the beginning of the experiment.  
  
Rogue could feel the girl's memories melding with hers, but she could also feel the powers she'd absorbed coursing through her veins. She felt so powerful, strong, indestructible. But the drug was still in her system and making her feel weak as well. Although Rogue's will was stronger than any sedative. She forced her body to move even though she was sedated and tired. Her newly acquired strength enabled her to rip off the metal restraints on her ankles and right wrist, which had still been bind, with mere tugs.  
  
"Stop her!" Trask commanded at seeing this.  
  
Rogue leaped out of the chair. She battled the guards with incredible strength and fighting moves Logan had taught her at the Institute. Her new abilities were amazing; the girl she had absorbed must have been quite a powerful mutant. Then she got to Trask and punched him so hard his body slammed into a wall. He fell to the floor and blood seeped out of his mouth from the impact. Rogue lifted him in mid-air by the neck with one hand, but not hard enough to prevent him from speaking.  
  
Trask was shocked. "You can't! You're heavily sedated...how?!" He was confused. His plan had been so perfect on paper: test Rogue's powers to the limit, force her to absorb another mutant for a long period of time and research the result. She wasn't supposed to be able to fight back, that was what the heavy sedative was for. But his plan had failed. How?  
  
"It's called willpower an' over the years Ah've had t' learn how t' fight for mahself 'cause no one else was gonna," she answered, "An' y'was wrong t' underestimate me, Trask...dead wrong."  
  
Trask couldn't believe it, he was about to have his neck broken by a teenage girl and all because of his simple blunder of undervaluing his enemy's capabilities.  
  
She gripped his neck tighter, "Ya made me kill that innocent girl an' for that you're goin' t' pay!"  
  
"Wait!" Dr. Vender yelled.  
  
She turned around to face the doctor, but did not release her enemy.  
  
"You can't, please! He's my brother," Dr. Vender said.  
  
She looked at the doctor, then at Trask. Even though her powers made her strong, her heart did not. She felt terrible as she realized what she was doing. She wasn't the murderer, Trask was, but killing him would prove her one as well. She punched Trask into unconsciousness and released him onto the floor. Rogue stared at Dr. Vender.  
  
"Take me t' mah friends," she said and the doctor nodded.  
  
Dr. Vender led Rogue down a long-stretching hallway and to the front of a steel door that read AREA 51. A computerized panel scanned Dr. Vender's face, but wouldn't allow access beyond the door.  
  
He looked at Rogue puzzled, "That's strange, I have clearance to be in this area."  
  
"Stand back," Rogue warned. He did and she kicked the door down with one mighty swoop of her leg. *This super-strength is amazin'! * She thought. She slowly went inside with the doctor not far behind; the room was dark with several cages that were empty with the exception of two.  
  
"Mr. McCoy! Evan!"  
  
The hairy, blue beast and the young brown-skinned boy looked up at her.  
  
"Rogue!" yelled Evan.  
  
"Thank goodness you're all right," said Hank, feeling a rush of relief.  
  
She quickly bowed the bars of their cages wide enough to allow them to go through. The three teammates hugged each other tightly.  
  
Evan looked at Rogue oddly, "How in the hell did you bend those bars?"  
  
"Long story, sugah, right now we gotta get out of here!" Rogue said.  
  
The three of them went toward the door, but it banged shut as soldiers entered.  
  
*That's why the scanner was acting so strange. The guards must have seen us on the monitors, * Dr. Vender realized.  
  
The guards were prepared to fight. Hank, Rogue and Evan hurdled toward the men and began to brawl. Hank, code named Beast, knocked his enemies about with nearly half as much of the strength Rogue was. Evan threw his spikes at them, tacking some guards to the floor and others to the wall.  
  
Dr. Vender was about to sneak away from the battle when Evan tacked the sleeve of his white lab coat to the wall behind him.  
  
"Sorry, man, but we're going to need you to find Logan," Evan explained.  
  
Suddenly Rogue's eyesight began to become hazy.  
  
*How could you! * Screamed a voice.  
  
Rogue looked around her.  
  
*They're not yours to use, give them back! *  
  
Then she came to the unfortunate realization that the voice was inside her head.  
  
*Give them back! Give me my life back! *  
  
"We must depart before reinforcements are sent," Hank warned and Rogue nodded with her strong will forcing the voice to be silent, and her vision to once again be clear.  
  
They ran from the room and hid in a supply room for a moment.  
  
"Take us t' where they keep Wolverine," Rogue demanded of Dr. Vender.  
  
"I can't," he said.  
  
Evan grabbed his collar, "What do you mean you CAN'T?"  
  
Rogue put a calming hand on Evan's shoulder and he released the doctor.  
  
"I mean, I can't. None of us can. Logan was taken to another facility this morning," Dr. Vender explained.  
  
"What is the location of this facility?" Hank asked.  
  
"I don't know. All they told me was he was being moved for further testing and that's all I have the authority to know."  
  
"Well, if that's all you know then your authority must be worth shi-" Evan said, but the loudness of an alarm cut off his last word.  
  
"Trask must have set off the security system once he regained consciousness," rationalized Dr. Vender. "He's the only one that knows how to activate it. You have to get out of here now before the entire building closes down."  
  
"Why do ya even care?" Rogue asked.  
  
"I didn't join this military base to hurt people. I thought they were hiring me to do just simple genetic research, to find cures for mutants with mutations that harm themselves and other people, not doing these insane experiments that involve testing on mutants to find potential weapons. That's why I care and am risking my life. Right now I'm not sure I'll survive what' going to happen to me when my superiors find out I've helped you," Dr. Vender said, "Now go!"  
  
Evan, Rogue and Hank darted away from the doctor, leaving him in the storeroom, and heading for the exit that was within range of their eyesight.  
  
Metal barriers and bars were coming down all around them. Rogue held up the metal exit door, clutching it at her waste, before it could slide downward. Evan and Hank squeezed beneath the metal door first, and then ran as fast as possible from the military institution. Rogue was about to run through the doorway and follow, but suddenly her head began to throb.  
  
*Give them back! Give me my powers back! *  
  
"Go away!" Rogue screamed.  
  
Evan and Hank turned around at hearing this. They saw the bars and metal barriers continuing to spring down around her as she yelled at what appeared to be thin air.  
  
"Rogue, come on!" Evan encouraged urgently.  
  
Though it was too late. The metal barrier slammed down in front of her and Rogue was locked tightly inside.  
  
Spike started to go back for her, but Hank stopped him.  
  
"Evan, there is no time. What good is going back there now if we can't even get through the front door's barrier? The entire building is sealed up tight and they're anticipating intruders. We need the others. I'm as fond of Rogue as you are, but we have to get out of here and come up with a plan first. We'll come back for her, I promise," Hank said reassuringly.  
  
Evan nodded in agreement, though he disliked the idea of leaving a team member, and friend, behind.  
________________________________________________________________________  
A/N: Soooo, how was it? Hopefully it was more exciting for you than the first chap! Anyway, REVIEW and tell me what y'all think-Cam :.Chao! 


	3. Chapter 3: Enemy's Aid

Sorry, had to reload this chap.  
  
Chapter 3: Enemy's Aid  
  
Soldiers came around the corner toward her as the alarm continued it's wailing. Rogue was finally able to force her mind to clear of the voice's relentless screaming, but then realized she was locked inside and with soldiers coming to recapture her. Though she was thankful that at least Evan and Mr. McCoy had escaped.  
  
She battled with the soldiers easily, but then arose the problem of getting away before more soldiers were sent; no matter how much more of an advantage her newly obtained powers gave her, her body was becoming severely tired, as was her mind. She couldn't fight anymore so she ran. Down a narrow hallway she sprinted, praying it led to some sort of escape. She ended up at an intersection of four hallways and was about to choose one when someone yelled for her.  
  
"Rogue!"  
  
She turned around to find Dr. Alex Vender a few feet behind her.  
  
"You are headed to an exit, true, but if you go that way they'll capture you again, perhaps kill you," he informed her.  
  
"Well, Ah'm thankful for your concern an' all, but if it's a way outta this place Ah'll take mah chances," Rogue said. She started to run off again, but then he said something that caught her interest:  
  
"I can help you."  
  
"Well, what are ya standin' there for-help me!" she said with unintentional harshness.  
  
"Come on," he said, taking her carefully by her clothed arm and leading her through a different path then the one she was originally going to choose. He took her through what seemed to be a maze of hallways and lab sections until finally they made it to an office with a couple of windows; the first windows she had seen around the rest of the building, and in days for that matter.  
  
"Why is this the only room wit' a window?" Rogue asked as they walked inside.  
  
"Because it's Trask's office. You see, he likes his office to have a full view of what's going on inside and outside of this base, basically so he can watch everyone," answered the doctor.  
  
Rogue shivered a little, *Trask is not only insanely prejudice against mutants, but creepy too. * She took Trask's telephone off his desk and threw it into one of the windows, shattering the glass. Then another alarm went off, but with a higher pitched tone, probably a personal alarm for Trask' office she inferred.  
  
She carefully climbed out of the window, and didn't realize until then that they were two stories from the ground; she had forgotten Dr. Vender had led her up a set of stairs before reaching Trask's office. Though it wasn't too high up she still felt a little fearful of the whole idea of jumping out of a window. Oddly, there wasn't a scratch on her from the jump, which she figured was due to one of the abilities she'd absorbed, the one that made her feel physically invulnerable.  
  
"Thank you!" she called to Dr. Vender as she ran from the building.  
  
As soon as she'd gone, soldiers burst through the door and seized the suspected traitor, Dr. Vender, but the girl, the rogue, was nowhere to be found.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
*Where in blazes am I?* he wondered. The slightly short, bulky man with dark eyes and dark hair that was shaped like the main of a wolf was lying on the cold cement floor. His body was sore all over and he was tired, so very tired; he opened his eyes and it was a strain to simply do that. They had drugged him to keep him and his Adamantium claws under complete control. They had beaten him as well, though his buries had already gone due to his healing factor.  
  
He looked around; the room was well lit, but empty of any tables or chairs. There were only white walls and a large glass window in the center of one of the walls. He had a limp in his walk as he went over to the window; he was still healing since his last attempt to fight his way out caused him a broken leg. The window mirrored his reflection on the side he looked through, but it was overt to him the other side was transparent. He breathed onto the window, his warm breath misting the glass a little.  
  
"Let me out of here!" he commanded with a horsed voice, speaking to people he could sense were examining him from the opposite side of the glass.  
  
"We can't do that, Logan," said the voice of a man through a speaker implanted in an upper corner of the room.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"We've told you-you have some very interesting metal charted throughout your body that our organization has never seen before," answered the man, "We must study you, observe your abilities and your control over the metal retained in your body."  
  
"Where are the others that your men captured me with?"  
  
"Now Logan, we've moved you completely out of New York. Your comrades are in an entirely different base being tested by a friend of mine so you can't help them escape if you're here now, can you?"  
  
Logan growled; he wanted so desperately to summon the metal from his hands and tear his captors apart for even mentioning experimentation on any of the young mutants from Xavier's Institute. Though that wasn't possible, considering that whatever drug they were using on him repressed his ability to arise his claws, but only temporarily.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Night was approaching and he sat in the café, sipping some steaming coffee. He had short, dusky brown hair and when he wanted he had a mysterious smile, one that could win any woman's heart, or sympathy when accompanied by a flash of his eyes. His eyes were crimson orbs on black discs, a lifelong reminder of what he was, a mutant.  
  
He sat at the booth in the café, quite and alone, which he hated because he oh, so loved company and excitement. What time was it? He didn't know and didn't care; he just didn't want to go back to the base. Magneto's constant using of him made him irritated. Though it wasn't just him the magnetic master was using, it was the rest of the members of the Acolytes as well.  
  
One of his teammates named Piotr, code named Colossus, was there only to keep his sister safe after he had used his mutation to save a man's life. Unfortunately when the narrow-minded town's people found he was a mutant they showed deep prejudiced toward he and his sister; the local people even attacked he and his sister at one point. Magneto had promised Piotr that he'd send people to protect his sister in Russia if he'd aid the magnetic master's cause.  
  
St. John, also called Pyro, on the other hand, was there to be far from his father's predigest of his mutant powers, but the Australian was also there for plain sport. John actually enjoyed creating a little chaos so he was happy to work for Magneto.  
  
And as for Remy LeBeau himself, well, the main reason the Cajun thief had joined Magneto's cause was to escape the two Guilds and the messy past that he'd left behind in his childhood home, New Orleans, Louisiana. He had hoped by coming to New York with Magneto he could start his life over again, even if it wasn't in the most lawful way.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Rogue's body was utterly exhausted. She was so young and inexperienced with the likes of such consistent combat that she'd quickly tired herself after fighting to escape Area 51. Not to mention her X uniform was shredded and torn from being attacking by so many soldiers. She was now meandering down an alley as the sun was setting; the sky arrayed by pink and orange from sunbeam reflections. But she could barely see the beautiful sunset because of the pain; her head had been throbbing since she'd made her getaway.  
  
The voice started again.  
  
*Let me out! You had no right! No right! *  
  
Rogue put her hands over her ears and shook her head frightfully. "Stop it! Damnit, jus' stop!"  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Remy made his way out of the café, taking his time, he didn't exactly feel like rushing to his new home to hear more of Magneto's schemes. He went outside and started to stride through an alley. Then he saw a girl screaming and stumbling through the lane.  
  
He went toward her, but didn't recognize her until he was inches from her face. It was the X-girl he had encountered once before. He'd heard Magneto say that she, along with a couple others, had been captured by the military, but apparently she'd escaped. Was she the only one that had escaped? She was alone-like him-so it would seem so.  
  
His first instinct was to leave her to deal with her own tribulations and return to Magneto's stratum. But he looked at her and she seemed so frail and in pain; Remy couldn't bear to see any mutant, particularly a female, in that sort of pain because of their powers, which was obviously the cause of hers.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Rogue fell to her knees with her hands still over her ears. She couldn't see clearly and the voice was becoming so loud she could barely hear her own screaming.  
  
*You're going to suffer for what you did to me! *  
  
Then above the ranting in her head she heard a soothing Cajun voice.  
  
"It's okay, chèrie. Calm down, Gambit gonna help y'."  
  
She didn't recognize the voice, but somehow the sound of this stranger's voice made her feel some sense of comfort. Though she couldn't see who the stranger was, she could only feel pain. The intense throbbing in her mind caused her to collapse, but someone caught her before her body could fall to the concrete.  
  
A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!! 


	4. Chapter 4: Lost & Found

Just to remind everyone this is going to probably be a long story (I'm guessing over ten chaps long), so I've got some time to get into the Romy and I don't plan to put them together, not yet anyway. Just please be PATIENT and I'll have lots of Rogue and Remy bonding in a few chapters later, k?  
  
Now, on with chap. 4!  
  
Chapter 4: Lost & Found  
  
Her emerald eyes opened. She felt soft cotton sheets against her skin and caught the faint scent of cologne on the pillows as she sat up in the bed. *Where am Ah? How did Ah get here? * She surveyed the area around her and defiantly knew she was in no room inside the X-men manor. There was a small desk and table next to the only window in the room that had simplistic curtains draped over it, keeping the outside world from view. Atop a plainly designed dresser lay a cigarette ashtray and a couple of brand new packs of playing cards. Next to the dresser there was a bo-staff leaning against the wall and a worn, brown trench coat was on the hanger of the closet door.  
  
Rogue heard footsteps coming near. She got off the bed and grabbed the bo- staff. She slipped into the closet as the door opened. When the door closed she came out from the closet and tired to hit the bo-staff to the boy's back, but failed; he easily caught the bo-staff with one hand before she could hit his backside. She kicked him in the chest and he fell back a little, but he didn't topple over like she'd expected since she thought she still had her extra-strength that she'd absorbed from the blond before. Something was wrong; the added powers she'd gotten from the blond girl felt as if they were no longer functioning.  
  
Remy swiftly flipped her over on the bed before she had a chance to strike again. She squirmed wildly in his grasp. His hands tightly gripped her gloved wrists as he tired to make her still.  
  
"Pacify, petite. It jus' Gambit," he said.  
  
"Yeah, Ah remember ya real well-last time we met ya tired t' blow me t' pieces!" she yelled, remembering during their first encounter he'd handed her an exploding card.  
  
"What was I suppose t' do? Y' was my enemy an' y' was lucky I didn't do more den hand y' a barely charged card," he retorted with a sly smile that nearly made her blush.  
  
He rose from atop Rogue's body and leaned on his dresser. She sat up on the bed and glared at him, but evaded looking him straight in his eyes.  
  
"Look, if y' want t' kill me y' welcome t' try, but I didn't bring y' here t' hurt y'," he informed her.  
  
"Why did ya bring me here?"  
  
"Don' y' remember?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well, all I know is I was walkin' home an' I saw y' in de alleyway screamin' for help an' cryin'," he said.  
  
Rogue crossed her arms and stated firmly, "Ah don't cry."  
  
He chuckled and imitated her position by folding his arms as well, "Really? Den how come all dat makeup y' had on is now on y' cheeks?"  
  
She felt her face and sure enough black mascara had flowed onto her cheeks by transportation of tears. Then she remembered what happened; her mind had been assaulted by that voice again and she was hurting so badly until she couldn't keep up her normal fascia of strength. The pain was so terrible she had burst into tears and cried out desperately for help. She hated that HE had seen her that way. She didn't want anyone, particularly this boy, to see her vulnerable. And with her makeup nearly faded entirely away she felt vulnerable, she felt naked.  
  
"Y' want t' use de bathroom?"  
  
She looked at him puzzled and restrained the urge to punch the grin that had formed on his face clear off.  
  
"I thought y' might want t' wash y' face-y' do look a bit ridiculous wit' dat makeup all over y' cheeks, y' know," he said, still wearing a mocking, but playful grin. Rogue barely succeeded in hiding a blush of embarrassment.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Evan! Thank the Goddess!" Storm said, rushing over to him. She hugged Spike tightly and a few tears of relief and happiness flowed from the wind- rider's eyes.  
  
Hank wasn't far behind and was soon hugging Storm, as well as the other X- men.  
  
The X-men were standing across from the ruined mansion that used to be an elegant safe-haven.  
  
"Good thing Jean, like, found you guys with her psyche," said Kitty.  
  
"Yeah, we wouldn't have found you two if it weren't for Jean, since the professor is-" Scott's voice trailed off; he couldn't bring himself to say it. He couldn't remember a time when Professor Xavier hadn't been there to guide the assembly of young mutants, to teach them. Now the professor was in a recovery room at the hospital trying to regain strength. And until he could, the X-men were on they're own.  
  
Hank and Evan looked at their teammates confused.  
  
"Um, since you two were gone," started Jean, "there's been a lot going on. The professor has been missing and the good news is we found him, but the bad news is he's in the hospital. We're all hoping he'll be all right. And the doctors say he just needs a couple more weeks and he'll be able to come home."  
  
"If you could call it a home anymore," commented Evan, staring at the rubble of what used to be Xavier's Institute.  
  
"Yes, exactly what did happened to the mansion?" Hank wondered.  
  
"Mystique happened," Bobby, code named Iceman, chimed in suddenly.  
  
True, Mystique had activated Def-con 4, the self-destruct mode of the school and caused it to completely explode. Though Hank and Evan both knew if Mystique's name was involved in the demolition then there need no more to be said about it.  
  
"Hey, vait a minute, didn't Rogue and Volverine get captured by the military too?" Kurt asked, his German accent clearly heard.  
  
Hank nodded, "Unfortunately, yes. It's sort of a long story, you all might want to sit down."  
  
The X-men did so on the soft grass, and listened as Hank and Evan told them about how Rogue incredibly saved them from Area 51, but then trapped herself in the base by reasons unknown to them. They explained why they couldn't save Wolverine as well.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Rogue strode out of the bathroom after having washed the residual makeup from her face; she felt so exposed without it. She walked back into Gambit's room and stood in front of him as he was sprawled across his bed, shuffling his freshly opened playing cards.  
  
He looked up at her. As he did, Rogue caught a hint of surprise and pleasure flash in his crimson on black eyes.  
  
"Jus' what are ya starin' at?"  
  
He made a small smile, "Y' look different without de makeup."  
  
"What's that suppose t' mean?"  
  
"Whatever y' want it t' mean," he replied simply, knowing it would aggravate her. *An' I thought she was beautiful wit' de makeup on! She even more gorgeous without it!, * Remy thought with a devilish smirk.  
  
She made an irritated sigh. *How could someone so handsome be so--annoying! Wait, please tell me Ah don't think he's handsome-no, damnit! He's mah enemy, Ah shouldn't be thinkin' like this! *  
  
Rogue decided this was no time to become friendly with the enemy. She had questions to be answered and she needed to find her teammates.  
  
"Look," Rogue said pointedly, which caught Remy off guard with her sudden change of tone, "Gambler, or whatever ya name is, Ah understand that y' let me have a place t' rest while mah head got straightened out an' Ah appreciate it, but ya an' Ah are enemies so don't expect anything out of this jus' because ya helped me once!"  
  
He stood up off the bed and looked at her with his temper fired up. "First of all, de NAME is Gambit!" he corrected; his tone was harsh, which involuntarily matched hers. "An' Gambit could've left y' dere passed out in de alley for whoever t' hurt y'! An' I never said I wanted anyt'ing from y' for it! 'Cause if I did, I woulda told y'!"  
  
Suddenly Rogue realized he was right. He didn't have to save her, hell he was her enemy. She was wrong to get angry with him for only providing help when she was in need of it. But on the other hand, he was her foe; he didn't honestly expect her to trust him, did he?  
  
Tired from his own outburst Remy sat on the edge of his bed in front of her.  
  
"Why did ya help me?" Rogue asked quietly.  
  
He shook his head, but didn't say a word. He didn't know the answer himself.  
  
"Um, thanks though, fer helpin' me an' all, Ah really do appreciate it," she said so softly he could barely hear her, "G'bye Gambit." And with that she walked out of the room and easily found her way to the front door across from it. She was about to make her exit when she heard the door opening from the opposite side, along with a familiar voice and a couple voices she didn't recognize. *Oh no, Magneto an' his other two new recruits! *  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"All right, first off, I want this house cleaned-Todd, you scrub down the bathroom, Fred, you straighten up the living room, and Lance you've got dish-washing duty," Pietro told them.  
  
Pietro, code named Quicksilver, had just come back into the Brotherhood and been pronounced the new leader by Gambit, who had relayed Magneto's decision just a couple of days ago. To his teammates' aversion, Pietro was already giving orders like a drill officer does new army recruits.  
  
Lance stood up off the couch of the rundown Brotherhood house. "And what if I don't like taking orders?" the mutant code named Avalanche questioned.  
  
"Yeah!" Todd added to Lance's query.  
  
"Then you and I have a problem," Pietro said.  
  
"Well, maybe I want us to," Lance said, grabbing the silver-haired boy's shirt collar, "Then I'd have an excuse to kick your ass!"  
  
"Yeah!" Todd chimed in, once again.  
  
"If you even try you'll have to answer to my father and we'll see whose ass would get kicked then," Pietro said, yanking his collar from Lance's grasp.  
  
"Yeah!" Todd said and Fred nudged him in the stomach, "I mean, no!"  
  
"Todd, shut up!" bombed Fred.  
  
"Hey, I'm just trying to help Lance out in this argument," Todd told Fred, "Because I definitely don't want to go anywhere near that bathroom if I have to clean it-cleaning just isn't my thing, yo."  
  
A housefly buzzed around Todd's head and he caught it with his tongue, and then swallowed it.  
  
"Yeah, we all know Todd doesn't like cleanliness-especially when it comes to himself," Lance said with a laugh.  
  
As Todd was about to retort, Pietro interrupted, "Listen! Things around here are going to be a lot different than before, staring with all of you learning how to take orders. Now like it or not I'm the new leader of the Brotherhood and all of you have to listen to me. I'm going to whip you bunch of losers into ferocious opponents if I have to make you train everyday after school!"  
  
"Train?" Fred repeated, "You mean like exercising and stuff?"  
  
"No, Fred, I mean we're taking a train to Mississippi!" Pietro said sarcastically. *This is going to be more difficult than I thought. *  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Rogue quickly looked around and saw a coat-closet right next to the door so she snuck inside it. *What is it with me an' closets today? This is the second one I've hid in so far, * she thought, almost amused.  
  
Magneto was the first to enter the house, of course, his lackeys following. He was wearing his mauve and red helmet with his usual matching clad and cape. One of the mutants that came in after him was a gaunt, blond boy while the other was extremely tall with dark hair; he had a bit of a colossal size body in contrast to his fair-haired teammate.  
  
"--Mystique is up to something and I want you two to investigate. I can't have her interfering with my plans. I know Mystique well enough from past betrayals and meddling that she'll certainly try to impede this plan like she has done all my others. And I have worked too hard and too many years on this to have it foiled now," Magneto said, continuing a conversation that had started before they came into the house. He paused and looked to the blond, "Pyro, tell Gambit to come into my office shortly, I will inform him of my plan as well."  
  
The blond he'd called Pyro nodded and headed for the Cajun's room. Magneto and the other mutant left the room; Rogue supposed they were going to the magnetic master's office. As soon as they left she quickly abandoned her hiding place in the closet and quietly closed the door behind her as she left. *That was too close for comfort, * Rogue thought as she made her way to the only place she presumed she could find her teammates.  
  
A/N: Hope y'all like that there was a bit of Rogue & Remy in this chap-no they're not together yet, but I'm working on it! And how did y'all like that I finally added in the Brotherhood? I won't know what y'all think if ya don't REVIEW, so please do!!! Cam:. Chao! 


	5. Chapter 5: Returning Home

First, THANKS very much to the people who reviewed chap.4! And as for Wolviesfan(), thank you for bringing that detail to my attention about the extent of Wolverine's abilities, I'll try to keep facts like that in mind when continuing this story and others for XME.  
  
Wanda is in this chap, and I'm not sure exactly what her power is, so y'all forgive me if I'm way off describing what her powers do.  
  
Here's chap. 5!  
  
Chapter 5: Returning Home  
  
Rogue hitchhiked her way to the X-men mansion. She wasn't the least afraid of being hurt by anyone who drove her because of her absorption ability. Though there was one thing nagging her in the back of her mind and interrupting her joyful thoughts of seeing her friends and home again. That nagging thought was why weren't the powers she'd absorbed from that blond girl suddenly ceased, along with the voice that accompanied them? Though she was glad she wasn't hearing that awful voice anymore, but what had happened? *Maybe they're gone just like with the other people Ah've absorbed. Maybe they were only temporary even though Ah held on longer with her than anybody else before. But if that's true then why do Ah still feel sort of a presence inside? *  
  
Once the man that she'd caught a ride with let her out of his truck she began gaiting around the corner and to the mansion's front gate. She could feel her heartbeat speed up a little. She was excited to be getting back to the Institution after what had happened over the past two days.  
  
She reached the gate and as she entered the yard she was shocked to find the terrible condition of the mansion. She watched a moment as her fellow X- men were doing their part to help repair the serious damage that had occurred. She strode up to where the front door had been. Jean was using her telekinetic ability to put several bricks back where they'd been before, as Kurt and Evan secured the hinges back on the front door with a hammer.  
  
Rogue cleared her throat, "Need any help, fellas?"  
  
"No, thanks, Rogue, ve've got it," said Kurt. After realizing whom he'd just spoken to he turned around and was in such shock that he dropped his hammer on Evan's shoe, which caused the spike-thrower to yell out some unsuitable words.  
  
"Rogue!" the blue and fuzzy boy cried. She hugged him and Evan as well, after he regained feeling in his foot.  
  
Evan called the other X-men over, who all were deeply pleased to see their teammate again, safe and sound. She changed out of her torn uniform and into her regular clothes and helped them continue to restore the mansion until almost sunset.  
  
The X-men sat on the large and now repaired porch of the mansion pleased with how much had gotten done. Mutant powers made it immensely easier to rebuild the X manor. The only thing which was left to be fixed were cable lines and the restoration of the technology, such as Cerebro, in the lower levels of the house. Although the only person that could repair Cerebro would be the one that built it, which was Professor Xavier, whom they all were planning to visit at the hospital tomorrow.  
  
Suddenly, Scott came out of the house and onto the porch with a duffle bag gripped in his hand.  
  
"Jean, Mr. McCoy, Storm and Spike get into your uniforms," Scott said after tossing Evan the bag, which held their X-men outfits.  
  
"Where are y'all goin'?" Rogue asked.  
  
"You weren't here when we discussed this yesterday, but we had decided who was going to go and stay for this mission," Scott replied.  
  
"What mission?"  
  
"We're going to get Logan back," he answered. "We had gone by the hospital yesterday and the Professor could pick up faint mental distress calls from Wolverine somewhere in Washington, D.C. We're going to head for D.C. tonight in the Blackbird and hopefully Jean will be able to track him from there."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
It was happening again just in a different location. He had been experimented on before, which was how he'd acquired the metal throughout his body, and now it was starting again. The scientists had punctured his skin several times already with needles to examine his mutated blood and now he was being prepared to undergo dissection. The doctor that was going to cut his body open for internal analysis had left the room for a moment to get some more tools. Now he saw his chance to escape, while no one was around.  
  
Logan laid on the cold steel table, restrained by metal bands. *Now or never, * he thought. He concentrated solely on summoning his claws.  
  
Then he felt it.  
  
SHING! Sharp, metal claws sprang from his knuckles. Once he'd gotten free of his binds, he sat up and was primed to make his escape when he heard an alarm go off. *Even better-there's an intruder, so while they're concentrating on capturing him, I can get out of here. *  
  
Logan ripped through the steel door with his claws and ran down the hallway, searching for an escape. After a couple of twists and turns he came to a large, re-enforced steel room that was obviously not the exit. He saw soldiers coming around the corner looking for the intruder and he snuck into the room; he didn't need to place attention on himself by them seeing him if the soldiers were preoccupied in finding the intruder. Waiting for the guards to pass him, he stood with his back against the steel door of the huge and brightly lit room. Then he saw it.  
  
In the center of the room was an extremely large, cylinder-shaped encasement, which was made out of seemingly sturdy metal. The entire container was silver and opaque except the upper half was glass, which showed that it was filled with what appeared to be water.  
  
He took a couple steps closer to get a better look at what exactly was behind the glass and beneath the water. He was taken aback at first to find it was a girl. She was floating inside the container as if she were sleeping, her eyes closed and her body still. *They must be experimenting on her, too. But why is she in this contraption? Why do they have her locked up like this? * Logan thought.  
  
Though he forced away his numerous questions for the moment, he needed to focus on getting out of there, but what about the girl? He decided she deserved a chance to get out of this awful place just as much as he did, going against his normal suspicious judgment in these sorts of matters. After all, he'd been through terrible experimentation himself and no one deserved that. His unbreakable claws easily tore through her encasement causing water to pour out over the floor. She fell onto the floor as well with the drainage of water.  
  
She was tall with soft white skin and seemed no older than sixteen. He noted her hair was blond with random thin strains of red throughout her mane, which was a clear sign to him she was a mutant. Her body was wrapped in a thin, white sheet-like dress and she was completely unconscious.  
  
Logan bent down to one knee. He picked up the soaked girl into his arms and was headed for the door when he sensed something. A familiar scent had triggered his incredible sense of smell. *Mystique. * She was near.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The shape-shifting mutant called Mystique strode down the hall in the form of a military guard. Honestly, it was too easy to get inside a military base. The base's alarm rang in her ears, reminding her of her new partner's temper and rash behavior. *Damn you Wanda! You couldn't just do it my way and sneak inside a top-secret facility without setting the security system off! * She had formed a pact with Wanda, the Scarlet Witch herself, just a few days ago. She had convinced Wanda that they both wanted the same thing: Magneto's death. And they had to work together if they wanted it to happen.  
  
Why did Mystique want Magneto to die? There were several reasons really, his bossiness, his arrogance, his cruelness. Though the main reason she desperately wanted her former boss Magneto to die was because of their last conversation when she was still a part of the Brotherhood:  
  
"I need to talk to you," she had said, entering the metal office.  
  
Magneto looked at her curiously, "What is it?" His voice annoyed, cold.  
  
"About our latest task of capturing the mutant," Mystique replied. "You mentioned something about Rogue being involved."  
  
"Ah, so you are concerned about Rogue. I knew you would eventually question me about this," he said, for a moment sounding almost thoughtful. "Rogue IS involved because your friend Irene said she would interfere. And I can't allow anyone to get in the way of my plans, not even her."  
  
"So what are you going to do to make sure Rogue doesn't interfere?" she asked, slightly afraid of the answer she would get from such a heartless man.  
  
"I will do whatever is necessary-kill her if I must," he replied.  
  
Mystique felt enraged. "KILL HER?!!!"  
  
"Yes, I will, it makes no difference to me if she's your daughter or not," he said. "My cause is more important than some girl."  
  
"That GIRL is my daughter, you insane bastard!!!" she screamed. "That's it! You've gone too far! I'm tired of you using me and I'll be dead before I let you kill my child!"  
  
"Fine. Go, protect your daughter-join the X-men, if you like, but you will regret it. Do you really think Kurt or Rogue would accept you after all you've done to them?" he questioned. "You know they won't, Raven, that's why you've always worked for me no matter how I've treated you because everyone else, even your own children, would turn you away except for me!"  
  
"I won't let you hurt Rogue, I don't care what future Irene predicts!" Mystique opened the door to leave. "I'll bring your whole operation down before I let you hurt either of my children!" And with that the shape- shifter slammed the door behind her as she left Magneto's ranks for good.  
  
And that, which had happened a few months ago, had been the last argument she'd had with the magnetic master, the one that made her hate him and desire his death. He was without a doubt going to kill Rogue if he ever accomplished his plan, so the X-girl wouldn't be able to stop him as Irene was predicting and Mystique knew she couldn't team up with the X-men, so she figured the only other way to ensure Rogue's safety was to make sure Magneto could not complete his plan. And the only person she could think of that would be helpful with Magneto was Wanda, since she wanted the same thing as her, his destruction.  
  
Mystique did feel anyone related to Magneto might as well be on her list of enemies, including the Scarlet Witch. But her personal feelings toward Wanda weren't important right now. She had to concern herself only with completing the mission at hand to foil Magneto's plans to save her daughter's life.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Mystique, what the hell is taking you so long?" Wanda asked with her usual sharpness through her com-link. She was battling guards' at the building's entrance.  
  
"Look, you know the plan-you keep the guards busy while I find the mutant. I never told you it was going to be easy, and I never said it would take mere seconds to find her!" Mystique replied in annoyance.  
  
The Scarlet Witch used her powers to toss five guards into a wall before speaking again, "Look, Misty, just hurry! I can't keep this up for much longer! I'm getting tired!"  
  
"My name is MYSIQUE for the thousandth time and if you'd cease your complaining then I could concentrate better on what I'm doing and find her faster," she told her and then came to a steel door. *This has to be the place. *  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The door opened and one of Wolverine's worst enemies entered.  
  
"Mystique," he growled.  
  
"Well, if it isn't Wolverine. It must be my lucky day-I get to kill you and take what I came here for. Two mutants with one stone," she quipped darkly.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Through here somewhere, Scott. Wolverine's mind waves are really strong in this area," said Jean walking with some of the other X-men. Storm, Evan and Hank made up the group, aside from Scott and Jean. They were inside the base and searching for Logan.  
  
"All right everyone, stand back," said Scott. He used his optic beam to blast through the steel door before them.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Logan looked down at the frail appearing girl in his arms. "What do ya want with her, Mystique? She's just a kid."  
  
"Well, that's of my concern, but as for you-" she said and her voice trailed off as she attempted to kick Wolverine's face, but missed as he instinctively ducked.  
  
He quickly laid the girl on the floor and started to battle Mystique. Then the door of the room was ripped off the hinges and sent to the other side of the room by a red beam and Logan knew exactly whom the beam belonged to.  
  
Suddenly thunder could be heard booming in the distance as Storm's temper rose when she spotted Mystique. Storm, as well as the other X-men, began using their powers against the shape-shifter.  
  
*Damn, I can't handle this many mutants by myself! * Mystique thought. Then everything in the room began to be thrown at the X-men and wires pulled from the walls and ceiling by an unseen hand and they immediately knew who it had to be. The Scarlet Witch.  
  
She stepped into the room and came to Mystique's side, "Need some help?"  
  
"I was handling it," Mystique replied, unable to admit she did need aid.  
  
Unfortunately, the X-men hadn't brought their entire group with them and they hadn't been prepared to fight Wanda. She held the other mutants off as Mystique fled with the girl.  
  
"Well, it's been fun, X-jerks, but I've got more important things to deal with," Wanda said as she left the battered X-men and followed after Mystique.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Wait, so let me get this straight-Mystique and Wanda are workin' together?" Rogue asked in disbelief. All of the X-men, even the students, had been shocked to hear the news as well earlier that day.  
  
"Yep," answered Logan as he was repairing the cable lines outside the mansion. Scott was standing by Rogue, handing the needed tools to the older man. The restoration of the mansion would now be complete once Xavier got back and fixed Cerebro.  
  
"But last night, when y'all came home from fightin' y'all didn't say a word about this alliance between them," Rogue recalled.  
  
"The only reason we waited until this morning is we had to be sure. We needed to sleep on it and wait until we could think more clearly before coming to this assumption," Scott said.  
  
"When you think about it what they did does make sense, Stripes. We're not sure why, but Mystique has a lot of anger toward Magneto, they do both now want the same thing-Magneto dead," Wolverine explained, "Mystique and Wanda probably figured since their goals were the same they might as well team up to make more of a challenge for Magneto-"  
  
"And us," added Scott. Logan nodded in agreement. Mystique and Wanda together would be a lot harder to beat than separately.  
  
"At least they're more concerned about Magneto's demise right now, but sooner or later we're going to be their next main targets and we've got to be ready," said Scott.  
  
"But wait a minute. One thing still bothers me-why did they want that girl y' were talkin' about?" Rogue asked.  
  
"Don't know," answered Wolverine as he reconnected a wire, "but that's what we need to talk to Chuck about this afternoon on our visit to the hospital."  
  
Logan got down from the cable line, "Finally finished."  
  
"Yeah, I didn't realize how important, like, electricity was for daily stuff until I, like, didn't have it," Kitty said while walking over to them with Kurt and Jean.  
  
"You're telling me, you vere veally starting to smell vithout a bath, Kitty!" Kurt joked and received a nudge in the stomach for it from Shadowcat.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Well, did you capture her?"  
  
The magnetic master sat back in his chair inside his metal office and awaited an answer from his Acolytes.  
  
"Sorry, mate, but it was no use. The shape-shifter and the witch got to her before us," answered Pyro with his Australian accent.  
  
The metal room shook at Magneto's will as he let his anger control his powers for a moment. Though he quickly went back to his calm, but cold persona before speaking again.  
  
"I have no tolerance for failure. All three of you know how important she is to me and without her my plan doesn't exist so I suggest you hunt down Mystique and Wanda and put a stop to their interfering immediately or you'll feel the wrath of my frustrations," Magneto warned with a sharp iciness in his tone. "Now, leave."  
  
As they proceeded to exit his office, Magneto paused and then said, "Gambit, you stay here. You and I have something to discuss."  
  
A/N: Okay, just to clear up some things, yes I am adding a character, no she's not from any X-men comic or tv show (obvious to most of you, I'm sure- LOL!). The new character is not going to be the huge absolute character, though she is one of the main ones-why? You'll find out later, she does have importance in the story, but Rogue is still definitely going to still be one of the main characters, don't worry. Sorry there were no BHB in this chap, but I promise I will have them and Rogue/Remy action in the story in upcoming chapters. Oh, and REVEIW! Cam:. Chao! 


	6. Chapter 6: Signs of Impending Disaster

THANKS Y'ALL for your reviews! (Sorry in advanced if this is short, I had to write this in sort of a rush-LOL!)  
  
Here's chap 6!  
  
Chapter 6: Signs of Impending Disaster  
  
"Professor!" yelled Kitty and was the first to hug him as the X-men entered the hospital room.  
  
Xavier sat up in bed with a contented smile on his face in seeing all his 'children' there, full of concern for his well-being.  
  
"The doctor is discharging you this afternoon, Professor, so you can finally come home," Jean informed him.  
  
"It will be nice to have everyone home again," said Storm thoughtfully and Xavier nodded in agreement.  
  
"I feel a great deal better than I did four weeks ago," said Xavier. He looked over at Rogue and suddenly winced in pain that had formed in his head.  
  
"You all right, Chuck?" Logan asked.  
  
"I'm fine," Xavier replied, but still had a slightly worried expression.  
  
The X-men and their teacher talked a short while about how well the mansion had been repaired and how Rogue, Hank and Evan escaped Area 51.  
  
Evan felt his stomach grumble, "I don't know about the rest of you, but, man, I'm starving."  
  
"Ja, me too!" added Kurt.  
  
"Y'all two are always hungry!" remarked Rogue.  
  
"Well, it is pretty late in the afternoon now and nobody's eaten lunch. I guess we could go down stairs and get something," said Scott after glancing at his watch.  
  
"Yuck! And eat hospital food-I'll, like, pass!" Kitty exclaimed.  
  
Xavier chuckled, "I'm afraid Kitty's right. As long as I've been here the food has been rather unpleasant."  
  
"Well, we can go to a fast-food place really quick and get everybody something," suggested Jean.  
  
Everyone seemed to agree with Jean's proposal and began to leave.  
  
"We'll be back, Professor," said Scott as they all left with the exception of Rogue, whom Xavier had asked to stay behind.  
  
The gothic dressed girl plopped down on a chair next to Xavier.  
  
"What did ya want t' talk t' me 'bout?" she asked curiously.  
  
"Your mind."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Damnit, you guys aren't even trying!" Pietro yelled at the other members of the Brotherhood as they were training outside their house in the afternoon.  
  
Pietro was coaching the other three boys and making them do an outrageous number of pushups.  
  
"I'm tired!" Fred wined.  
  
"Yeah, I agree with Fred, yo!" said Todd. "We've been exercising for hours, and if I have to do another one of these damn pushups I won't get any girls 'cause I'll be all sweaty and disgusting! "  
  
"You're already disgusting so it wouldn't be much of a change," Pietro said and suddenly felt the ground shaking beneath him.  
  
"That's it!!!" Lance yelled, as he continued to make the ground quake; his aggravation caused by a combination of extreme training and complaints from everyone, including from Pietro about how they were exercising. "I'VE had it!"  
  
The ground shook so much until all of the other Brotherhood boys fell over and Lance, the only person standing, stomped toward Pietro. He grabbed the silver-haired boy up by his arm and punched him directly in the jaw. Pietro fell on his back from the blow.  
  
"Hell, yeah, you my hero now, man!" Todd quipped to the brown-haired ground- shaker.  
  
Pietro rubbed his now aching jaw. "I can't believe you just did that! Magneto's going to-"  
  
"Look!" Lance yelled at the silver-haired boy. "Everyone's been working their ass off today and all you can do is say how we're not doing enough! You used to be at least decent before Magneto put you in charge, but now it's like you've gone overboard with being leader and I'm sick of you treating me and Fred and Todd like we're your damn slaves! So if Magneto kills me for beaten you up then I don't care, it'll be worth it if that's what it takes just to shut you up!"  
  
There was a pause and Pietro just continuing to sit on the ground, staring down almost shamefully at his hands, at his palms with their barely visible veins and knowing the blood that ran through them was shared with someone he cared about, but also hated; his father. And after a few of moments he finally spoke.  
  
"Listen, I know I've been driving you all insane lately with all this training and stuff, but I can't help being so bossy and uptight. I mean, Magneto is my dad and he's been putting all this pressure on me about what will happen to me and the rest of you depends on if I can cut it as a leader," Pietro said. "I know I've been an ass, but it's hard when your father acts like he'll disown you if you don't live up to unbelievably high expectations."  
  
"Yeah, but even with all that pressure on you that's no excuse acting like an ass," Todd said and Fred nudged him.  
  
Lance held his hand out and pulled the silver-haired boy to his feet.  
  
"If we're going to impress Magneto to keep him off our backs then we'll train-"  
  
"We WILL!?" Fred exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah, we will," Lance confirmed and looked back at Pietro. "But only if you stop acting like you're our slave-master and ease up some."  
  
"Fair enough," Pietro said.  
  
"Oh, great, we still have to do training-now I know I won't be getting any girls!" Todd complained.  
  
"But, Todd, you weren't getting any before we started to train," Fred said matter-of-factly and Lance and Pietro laughed.  
  
"I wouldn't laugh too hard, Pietro, might cause your jaw to be even more sore," Todd remarked, which made Pietro stop his laughing, but only increased Lance's.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
She opened her golden brown eyes, her blond hair with unsystematic red strains hung about her shoulders. She found she was lying on the floor and as she sat up she realized she was encaged. The bars of the cage were glowing orange and she tapped a finger on it, which sent her a small shock. If she tried to escape the bars would electrocute her. And she couldn't even attempt a getaway as long as her powers were so weakened. The years she had been in the military base she hadn't used her powers and so they weren't up to their normal, optimum level; that had been one of the downsides of her powers, they were weakened very easily.  
  
She observed her surroundings and found she wasn't in the aquatic stasis chamber anymore, but in a large house. She had been kidnapped. Whoever her captors were, they knew of her powers, otherwise her cage wouldn't have been made with electrical bars. But who were her captors?  
  
Then she heard arguing in the next room.  
  
"--Why didn't you tell me she could get that powerful!? You should let me kill her while she's unconscious! She's only a danger to us alive!" said one voice that sounded like it was from a teenage girl with deep-seeded anger.  
  
"Don't be foolish," came a second voice quietly, but sternly, sounding of an older woman. "She's of more use to us alive. We can use her to lure Magneto out in the open and into a trap. I know he will come for her and when he does we'll be ready for him."  
  
"And what if your plan doesn't work, Mystique?" the girl inquired.  
  
"Well, then as you've said, Wanda, she would be too much of a risk to have around alive."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"--Do you understand?" Magneto asked after a long discussion with his Cajun recruit.  
  
"Oui, monsieur. Gambit comprehend," he responded.  
  
"Good. You may go now," Magneto told him.  
  
Remy stood up and took his bo-staff in his hand. As soon as he stepped out of the magnetic master's office an extremely large figure was almost looming over him.  
  
"Out of my way, Cajun, unless you want to lose an arm," came the intimidating voice of Sabertooth.  
  
This was nothing out of the ordinary for Remy. The huge, hairy mutant had given Remy a hard time since he'd first been recruited. Not that he had wanted to form any type of friendship with the vicious mutant named Sabertooth anyway.  
  
"But o' course," Remy said politely and stepped aside. Sabertooth began to walk passed him and through the threshold of Magneto's office when he felt Remy's bo-staff deliver a firm swoop to his ankle, which caused him to almost fall flat on his face if he hadn't caught his balance; Remy tried to muffle his own laughter at the sight of it.  
  
Sabertooth wanted to rip Remy apart for that, but controlled himself like he rarely did. Magneto had told the catlike mutant that none of the Acolytes were to be harmed until he had finished using them. And Sabertooth was a most obedient mutant when it came to Magneto, so he continued his way into the office without a word to Remy.  
  
Remy went to his room and laid down on his bed, thinking of the task Magneto had given him. *O' course he would want me t' seduce her. Irene say she be de only one able t' endanger Magneto's plan as long as she's on de X- men's side. If she always acts so icy like she did when I had helped her de first time den dis is not gonna be easy. But den again Gambit love a challenge! *  
  
He mused to himself about Rogue and luring her to the side of the Acolytes, he had done much 'luring' to many women before so he supposed this time would be no different-would it?  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"What do ya mean, Professor? What about mah mind?" Rogue asked curiously.  
  
"Rogue, when you, Hank and Evan were explaining how you'd escaped the military base you never mentioned if Trask had done anything to you," said Xavier.  
  
Rogue held her head down, not wanting to remember. She desperately had been trying to forget the gruesome act she'd done in Area 51. Murder. Even though she had been forced to absorb the girl that didn't change the fact that the girl was dead because of her deed.  
  
Xavier could sense Rogue wanting to evade the topic though she had said nothing. Still, if something had happened it was important he knew. Whatever Trask could have done to her could have horrible results later on.  
  
"Please, Rogue," Xavier prodded, "Tell me what happened there."  
  
She closed her eyes. "Trask had me tied down in some sort a metal chair. They brought in a mutant. They took mah glove off an' one of the guards put mah hand, mah skin against hers. She was screamin' an' cryin' an' Ah couldn't stop," Rogue's voice became unstable, but she didn't allow tears to surface as she continued, "Ah could feel her memories combinin' wit' mine like they always do if Ah touch someone. Ah could feel her powers in me. Ah felt strong, invincible, but they made me hold on so long. They wouldn't let me release her till Ah passed out. When Ah woke up she wasn't movin'. Ah had killed her! Oh god, Ah had killed her!"  
  
Xavier allowed Rogue a moment to gain her composure so her voice would be steadied before he spoke again.  
  
As she sat up in front of him, he spoke, "That must be what I had been sensing. Since you were forced to make skin on skin contact longer than you ever have before the personality of the girl you absorbed must still be inside of your mind. Her presence is still there, not just some faint memories like other people you've absorbed. I had been sensing strong anger from her when you first came to the hospital."  
  
"Anger?"  
  
"Yes. She hasn't tried to attack you in any way, has she?"  
  
"Well, she was. Ah mean, after Ah first absorbed her she kept screamin' in mah head, but now she doesn't do anything," replied Rogue.  
  
"Strange, I don't sense anger right now, or any emotion from her for that matter. Still, I'll do an examination once we go home this afternoon just to be safe," said Xavier.  
  
Rogue nodded in agreement.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"How is the partnership with Wanda proceeding?"  
  
The blind mutant foreseer named Irene, who was also called Destiny, felt her way around the kitchen until she found the table. She sat down in front of Mystique.  
  
"In a word-tiring," replied Mystique.  
  
"Her good judgment is fogged by her hatred for her father, but it is that same hatred that keeps her under your control. She tires you, I know, but trust me you will need her as a benefactor in the future-to survive what's coming," said Irene vaguely, likewise to how she said many things.  
  
"And just what is coming?" the blue-skinned woman asked with an annoyed tone. She had to admit being around Wanda had made her a little more edgy than she normally was.  
  
Irene ignored her friend's tone and continued, "I can't see what's coming yet, the future is uncertain at present. Though I can already see that the futures of the Brotherhood, Magneto and his Acolytes, the X-men, Wanda and even you are all entwined. I can sense there will be betrayals and thereafter a battle, an intense one, though the outcome is uncertain as well. It's hard to say exactly what will happen at this point."  
  
"You've described the future quite broadly," Mystique commented.  
  
"Yes, but know this, Raven," said Irene, "the movements toward this future start now and I fear the outcome of this nearing battle will not turn out well for you, nor your children."  
  
A/N: Just so you know parts of this chapter (particularly the part with Destiny) were sort of a prologue to later chaps. Anyway chapter 7 is coming very soon! Pleeease REVIEW! Cam:. Chao! 


	7. Chapter 7: Dominating the Guilty

Everyone THANK YOU for ya lovely reviews!  
  
Just so y'all know I'm not going to jump straight into the main storyline just yet, even though I've given a hint at the end of my last chap of things to come. But I've got to get through the Carol conflict first, which I'm guessing will only be a couple more chapters, so be patient--LOL!  
  
*** ","will mean memories, or dreams.  
  
*** , will mean conversations, fights, etc done inside the mind. (Don't worry, in case you forget I'll let you know when something is done in the mind, or is a memory.)  
  
Now, chap 7 is here!  
  
  
  
Chapter 7: Dominating the Guilty  
  
"Well, nothing appears to be wrong," said Xavier as he came out of probing Rogue's mind. "Strange, she is there, but she didn't fight me when I entered your mind or try to hide from me. She's just existing and nothing more."  
  
Rogue stood up from the living room couch. "What do ya mean? Ya think maybe she's given up on bein' angry wit' me?" Rogue queried.  
  
"It would seem so," replied Xavier. "But just to be on the safe side I'd like to examine you once again tomorrow afternoon."  
  
"All right," said Rogue. "G'night, Professor."  
  
"Goodnight, Rogue," he said, but then added, "And remember what we talked about earlier, it was not your fault she died. They had forced you to hurt her so don't feel you were the one to blame."  
  
Rogue nodded and headed upstairs. Though she didn't truly believe she wasn't responsible for the girl's death.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Not long after Rogue had talked with Xavier, she went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. She stepped out of the shower and stared at the mirror at her reflection.  
  
Suddenly she couldn't see where she was anymore, only ballet concerts that she'd never been to and parents that she didn't remember having. Her mind was being flooded with the memories of someone else and it was so much until she fell unconscious on the soft rug of the bathroom floor.  
  
***Rogue looked around. She was in a room she recognized. She was inside the room in which she'd been forced to absorb the girl when she'd been in Area 51. Though Trask wasn't there this time, nor were his guards.  
  
"Welcome," said a voice hidden in the darkness of the room.  
  
Rogue gasped as the person from which the voice came stepped forward.  
  
"What's the matter, murderer? Don't recognize your handiwork?" the blond girl asked mockingly.  
  
Rogue felt the same guilt weigh her down that had been somewhat doing so since she'd first absorbed the girl.  
  
"Do you remember what you did to me? I died unable to feel anything except pain!"  
  
"Ah'm sorry for what Ah've done t' ya," Rogue apologized sincerely.  
  
The girl's face twisted into a sarcastic smile, "Sorry? You're sorry! You took everything from me! I was making straight A's in high school, I was going to college off of a scholarship, I had an amazing boyfriend and family that cared about me, not to mention I had super-strength, invulnerability and I could fly because of my powers and who makes me lose all those things? A bratty gothic bitch with no appreciation for life or those who even bother to care about her!"  
  
Rogue felt sick, each word the girl had spoken had cut through her heart like a dagger. "Ah didn't mean t' hurt ya. Trask made me-"  
  
"SHUT UP!" the girl screamed. "I don't care how innocent you pretend to be to get other people to feel sympathy for you, but I know the truth! And the truth is YOU'RE a murderer, guilty as sin! And now you're going to pay."  
  
Rogue couldn't speak; she was too consumed with guilt that had been caused by her victim's harsh words. The blond brought her face close to Rogue's.  
  
"Take a good look at me, your victim Carol Danvers. Take a really good look because I am the last person you're ever going to see that will even know you're here," she said.  
  
She threw Rogue into the same metal-binding chair that she had been in the first time they'd met. Rogue tired to rip her binds away, but this time she couldn't.  
  
"Don't even try to get free. You couldn't have even escaped that military base before if weren't for my powers, you thief! You see, since I have been stuck in your head I've had a lot of time to think about the proper punishment for you and my own release from this pathetic excuse for a mind. I decided what better way to punish you than to dominate over your mind and body and live life like I was supposed to before you murdered me," Carol said.  
  
"What! No, ya can't!" Rogue said in outrage.  
  
"Can't I? I'll just fill your place while your detained here," Carol said. "You'll be locked up in here and get to watch me hurt everyone you care about just like you hurt me."  
  
Before Rogue could protest anymore a white light filled the room for a few moments and then Carol was gone. ***  
  
She lifted Rogue's naked body off of the bathroom floor and observed its curves and features. She made a small smile.  
  
"Well, at least she's pretty, but I guess I'll have to make due with her freaky hair, or maybe I could dye it blond," Carol said to herself.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The next morning Carol awoke and her eyes met a pair of yellow ones. She yelped and kicked the yellow-eyed beast off the bed.  
  
"Vhat did you do vhat for?" asked Kurt as he stood up again, rubbing the back of his head. "Are you trying to give ve a concussion!"  
  
"Well, you shouldn't have been trying to scare me like that!"  
  
Kurt noticed something was strange about her voice, but ignored it and continued. He didn't realize that Rogue's Southern accent was missing from her words. "Vhat are you talking about? I just came in here to vake you up like I always do vhen you don't get up on time-you know how the professor gets vhen ve're late for early morning training sessions," the blue, elf mutant said.  
  
"Whatever. If you weren't trying to scare me than why are you wearing that hideous mask?" she asked.  
  
Kurt looked at her with a hurt expression. "How could you say something like vhat, Rogue?" he said quietly and disappeared with a poof of smoke.  
  
*Wait, those yellow eyes and freaky face were really his? He must be mutant. Apparently one that cares about this Rogue girl that I've taken the body of or my comment wouldn't have fazed him. Good, starting with him, everyone Rogue loves is going to suffer and she gets to helplessly watch! This is going to be more fun than I thought! * Carol mused evilly.  
  
She happily got out of the bed and went to Rogue's closet, but was not pleased by what she saw.  
  
"Of course a goth would own nothing, but gothic clothing," she muttered as she rummaged through the girl's closet.  
  
Then she noticed the other closet right across from her, which she didn't know belonged to Rogue's roommate, Kitty "Shadowcat" Pryde. She went through the other girl's closet and put on a sky blue shirt and short jean skirt along with a pair of matching sandals, all of which were Kitty's.  
  
Carol walked down the hallway and was just about to stride down the staircase when she saw several teenagers, dressed in slightly odd uniforms headed for an elevator across from her. One of them noticed she was standing there and ran over to her.  
  
"Rogue, come on! You're going to be, like, late if you don't hurry up and get to the Danger Room!" said Kitty, leading Carol with her to the elevator, "And isn't that, like, one of my outfits! Oh, never mind, just come on and get dressed before Scott gets on our cases for our major lateness!"  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Once Kitty had given Carol Rogue's uniform, they went straight to the Danger Room with the other X-men students. As Storm started the training simulation from the control room, Carol had an idea.  
  
Don't ya touch them! Rogue yelled at Carol.  
  
I told you, Rogue, I'm going to hurt everyone you love with you as the audience. Carol thought back in response.  
  
Suddenly, robots appeared and began battling with the X-men, testing their teamwork.  
  
"Rogue, Nightcrawler's in trouble, go help him!" Cyclops ordered as he blasted robots with his optic beams.  
  
Carol instead gaited toward Cyclops with an evil smile. "I like your powers," she said, "Can I barrow them?"  
  
He was so busy battling drones he didn't notice his own supposedly teammate advancing on him. She pulled off her glove and let her bare hand touch his face. He instantly passed out and Carol shocked the team of mutants as she began blasting the X-men with Cyclops' powers. Carol not only could have complete control over Rogue's powers, but the powers of mutants she absorbed as well.  
  
Storm was horrified when she realized what was happening and quickly stopped the training simulation. She flew into the room and tried to reason with Rogue whose body was being wielded by Carol.  
  
"Rogue, calm down," Storm said as peacefully as possible.  
  
"Rogue? Why, there's no one here by that name," Carol said mockingly and blasted an optic beam at the white-haired woman. Storm was sent flying into a metal wall, which hazed her vision a bit as she lied on the floor.  
  
Carol used one of her own powers, flight, to lift as high as the ceiling. The injured X-men looked up at who appeared to be their friend and teammate, Rogue.  
  
"None of you are getting out of here, so don't try. And while each of you die remember that it was Rogue that caused you this pain. Remember that because she murdered Carol Danvers you're all going to be killed today," Carol said.  
  
The X-men looked at her stunned and confused. But as Carol was continuing her speech the weather-witch's eyesight was clearing and she was rising up from the floor.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Remy lit a cigarette as he sat down at a downtown café. He had smooth talked a waitress into revealing to him that Rogue came to this particular place every Friday and Saturday afternoon. He was even sitting in the exact booth the waitress had said Rogue regularly did, but where was she? It was becoming late and she hadn't shown up yet.  
  
*Maybe I should go home an' try t' find her tomorrow. I'm too tired t' be worryin' bout seein' her now. Magneto's job for me is jus' gonna have t' wait. *  
  
Remy put a tip on the table and departed from the café.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Ah, just stop," Pietro said and made an exasperated sigh. He looked at his teammates tiredly as they stood outside. "Don't you remember any fight- training my father taught you, or Mystique for that matter?"  
  
Todd and Fred stared at him blankly.  
  
"Guess that's a 'no'," Lance said, trying not to laugh at his teammates' feeble attempts of combat.  
  
Pietro ignored Lance and continued, "Blob, you have an excessive amount of strength and Toad you've got good agility-you both have got to learn how to use your abilities to your advantage, instead of disadvantage."  
  
Fred and Todd nodded as if they understood.  
  
"Okay, let's try this again," said Quicksilver, trying to be patient. His chin was still slightly reddened from yesterday when Lance had punched him, reminding him to not be so hard on his teammates.  
  
Pietro gestured for the two to start again. Blob lounged forward at Toad, who jumped from his grasp and flipped over the massive boy. Then as Blob tried to grab Toad again he succeeded, but tripped sending both of them to the ground.  
  
"Get him off me yo! I can't breathe!" Todd cried.  
  
Lance and Pietro rushed over to the boy that was trapped beneath Fred's huge body. After Lance and Pietro helped the two off the ground, they burst into laughter.  
  
"Sorry, Todd," Fred apologized.  
  
"Man, that stuff isn't funny, yo! Fred could've killed me!" Todd wined, rubbing his now sore stomach, which was the part of him that Blob had pinned down.  
  
The speedy silver-haired boy looked at Fred and Todd hopelessly. "This isn't working-just shoot me," Pietro said sarcastically.  
  
"I would love to," came a voice.  
  
"Mystique," Pietro said with disdain as he turned to face her.  
  
The ground shook a little at Lance's command as his eyes fell upon her. "Unless you want to rumble, I suggest you get off our property, Mystique," Lance threatened.  
  
"It might come to a surprise to all of you, but I didn't come here to fight," she said. "I came here to talk, and since Wanda can't stand the very sight of you, Quicksilver, I came here alone."  
  
"Yeah, we heard about your little teaming up with Wanda, but what do you want from us, yo?" Todd wondered.  
  
"I have an offer for you," Mystique replied.  
  
"Yeah? Exactly what sort of offer?" Pietro asked; his blue eyes narrowed at her suspiciously. He was curious to hear what she had to say, but he distrusted the shape-shifter nonetheless.  
  
A/N: What kind of offer is Mystique taking about? Will Carol be stopped before she hurts and/or kills some of the X-men? You've gotta REVIEW and I will load the next chap very soon so y'all can find out! Cam:. Chao! 


	8. Chapter 8: Repossession

THANks so much for y'all reviews! Sorry to keep anyone waiting. I'll definitely try not to wait quite as long to update. And finally, here's chap. 8!  
  
  
  
Chapter 8: Repossession  
  
Carol gripped Scott's neck, one-handedly strangling him by using another one of her powers, super-strength, as she floated in the center of the Danger Room. She knew he was the leader of the X-men and so she wanted to terminate him first.  
  
"Stop it! Rogue, why are you doing this!" Jean cried, fearful for the life of her boyfriend.  
  
She threw Scott across the Danger Room with unbelievably little effort and laughed, "Do you honestly still think I'm Rogue after all you've seen? Ha! I've been in her head long enough to know the real Rogue never had this much control over her powers! And you really still think that I'm her, a little pathetic, weak mutant? Oh, this is too rich!"  
  
"If you're not Rogue then who are you! A shape-shifter?" asked Evan with anger in his voice.  
  
"No, you see this is Rogue's body. As a matter-of-fact she's in her with me, locked in her own mind so if you hurt me in any way, you'll hurt your beloved Rogue too," said Carol.  
  
Then Kurt saw the weather-witch, who Carol had blasted with an optic beam, with a heated expression. He noted Storm's eyes were whirling with white mist and sparks of thunder as she stood from where she had fallen.  
  
"NO!" Kurt yelled, but it was too late. Bolts of thunder struck Carol at Storm's will.  
  
Carol fell from her floating position in the air and onto the floor, Kurt quickly teleported over to her.  
  
"Rogue! Rogue!" Kurt cried as he tried to shake his sister awake, though her body was completely immobile.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"The sort of offer I'm proposing is actually along the lines of a truce," Mystique told them.  
  
"A truce?" Fred repeated. The four boys looked at each other.  
  
"You see," she went on, "there's going to be quite a battle between Magneto and I. And when that battle comes, Wanda and I will take no prisoners. Anyone caught up with Magneto's cause will die with him. But none of you have to get involved. I'll spare your lives if Pietro does one little thing."  
  
"What?" Lance asked curiously.  
  
"Reveal Magneto's new location," she replied simply.  
  
Pietro shook his head and grimaced, "If you think I'm going to betray my father for you, Mystique, you obviously don't know me very well."  
  
"Quicksilver, I know you love your father. Hell, I was just as acutely loyal to that old madman as you are now! But trust me he's using you. He uses everyone; even his Acolytes are just expendable pawns in his future plans," she told him, "After all, Pietro, he abandoned Wanda, his own daughter. He'll soon do the same to you once he no longer requires your patronage."  
  
Pietro paused; Mystique's words had pushed him deeply into thought.  
  
"Listen, I don't expect an answer immediately, but don't take too long deciding, Quicksilver-the battle is closer than you think," she warned and left the Brotherhood boys to themselves.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Is she going to be all vight, Professor?" Kurt asked, full of concern for his adopted sister.  
  
Rogue was lying atop a metal table in the mansion's infirmary. Xavier was next to Logan, who stood diagonally from Kurt.  
  
"Don't worry, Kurt, Storm only shocked Rogue enough to put her into short unconsciousness. She'll be fine. Logan, take Kurt into the hall with the others. I need to be alone with Rogue," said Xavier.  
  
Logan nodded and as he was leaving, the blue elf ahead of him, he looked back at the professor. "Chuck, you can bring Stripes back, can't ya?"  
  
"I will try, Logan," replied Xavier.  
  
Logan grimaced and quietly left the room with little hope that Rogue would be able to be saved.  
  
Xavier went to the end of the table and his hands hovered on either side of Rogue's head. His skull bent downward slightly so that their foreheads nearly touched.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
*** "When this body wakes up I'm going to kill that white-haired bitch!" Carol swore. She was pacing around Rogue, who was still locked down in the metal chair.  
  
"Ya know, even though Ah get hurt every time ya get hurt Ah wish Storm woulda feed ya enough lighting bolts t' kill ya!" Rogue snapped.  
  
"But then you would die too, Rogue, and I want no one to have the pleasure of your death, but me," Carol said. "Besides I can't let you die yet, I'm not through torturing you!"  
  
"Ya try t' even touch a hair on mah friends' heads again an' Ah'll-"  
  
"You'll what?" Carol asked and glared into Rogue's emerald eyes. "My mind is stronger then yours will ever be!"  
  
"Want t' bet?" Rogue said and suddenly she mentally forced the entire metal chair to vanish.  
  
Carol looked at her, "You think you can fight me and prevail?"  
  
"Ah don't think, honey, Ah know," Rogue replied, as she stood up with her back determinedly straight in front of her enemy. "Ya was right, Carol, bein' stuck in here gives a person a lot a time t' think an' Ah've had a bit of a revelation. Ah used t' think it was mah fault ya was dead. Ah thought ya had reason t' be so angry because Ah had taken your life from ya. An' because Ah understood your feelings, deep down a part of me thought Ah deserved your punishment. But Ah was wrong. Ya let your anger consume ya and destroy ya humanity without needing any o' mah help."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"Ah'm sayin' take a good look at who ya've become-you'll see ya look a lot like me, the person ya claim is so guilty."  
  
"No! You're the mur-"  
  
"What? Murderer? Not too long ago ya was tryin' t' kill mah friends, who had nothin' t' do with what happened t' ya! They're completely innocent an' ya was tryin' t' execute them-now, who sounds like the REAL murderer here?"  
  
Carol was speechless. Rogue had made some good points about her that she hadn't thought about before. Still, she wasn't about to give up the fight; Carol had let her anger toward Rogue turn into hatred. And she had let that hatred destroy her judgment and humanity, just as Rogue had said. All that Carol had left now was malice.  
  
"Well, Rogue, if you want this body you're going to have to take it because you won't get it back otherwise," Carol challenged. "And I doubt you're will, or meager mind is strong enough to-"  
  
Rogue punched Carol before she could finish. "Ya know somethin', Carol? Ya talk too much." The two of them began to battle, but were unaware of another presence entering. ***  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Well, I see you're finally awake."  
  
Wanda stood with her arms crossed in front of the encaged girl.  
  
"You know the government has people looking all over for you in Nevada, that's where the base you were in is, right? Well, they'll never guess you're here in New York. But I'm curious, what was it like being asleep in a tank of water for five years?" Wanda asked with a mocking smile.  
  
The girl spat at her. Wanda made the walls wobble a little and a few books fell from a nearby desk.  
  
"I'm trying to be nice to you, but spit at me again and I don't care what Mystique says-dead bait is just as good as live bait in my opinion," Wanda said. She paused, "Aren't you even curious to know why you're here?"  
  
"Whatever the reason I'm guessing it entails usage of my powers," the girl said.  
  
"I'll be damned, she speaks!" Wanda said wryly; the girl hadn't spoken since they'd kidnapped her. "And yes, you're right it does involve your powers."  
  
The front door opened and Mystique stepped into her home. She went into the living room and Wanda followed.  
  
Wanda glared suspiciously at the older woman, "Where have you been?"  
  
"I had errands to run. Anyway, how is our captive mutant?" Mystique asked.  
  
"She's awake and has a bit of an attitude," Wanda remarked.  
  
"Well, you two have something in common then," the shape-shifter said with a smirk. Then Mystique's face became serious, "I've decided now is the time to put the girl to some use."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
***Xavier gaited slowly into the room; one thing he liked about entering someone's mind or memories was his normal physical 'fetters' didn't apply in the psyche, which allowed him to walk instead of being paralyzed in his legs.  
  
He came into the room to find Rogue fighting whom he was sure was the person that Storm said attacked the X-men earlier using Rogue's body. Even though the blond girl seemed to be quite strong Rogue was too determined to quit.  
  
"Rogue!"  
  
"Professor?" Rogue said as she twisted Carol's arm back and flipped her over.  
  
"There's only one way to stop this. We must contain her because she can't die. Like the pieces of personality and memories of others you've absorbed she is permanently apart of you now," Xavier informed her.  
  
"But how do we-"Rogue wasn't able to finish because Carol delivered a hard hit to her stomach.  
  
"You must be Professor Xavier," Carol said. "I've seen some of Rogue's thoughts about you. She actually believes you can stop me because of all your psychic training! But I'm not going to give you the chance to stop me!"  
  
She charged forward at Xavier, but suddenly she couldn't move. Xavier was using his mind to hold her in place.  
  
"Rogue, you know what to do! Hurry! She's strong and I can't hold onto her long!" he said urgently.  
  
Rogue stood in front of Carol and began to assault the blond with as much mental-strength as she could muster. And with the help of the professor, thick, liquid concrete started to ascend from Carol's feet and was inching up her thighs at Rogue's cerebral command. The liquid concrete was slowly coating Carol, swallowing her limbs from view like quicksand.  
  
Rogue fell to her knees as the strain on her mind began to weaken her, but she continued; she couldn't quit, no matter how painful it was, she had to stop Carol once and for all.  
  
"IT'S NOT FAIR!!!" were Carol's final words, as the liquid concrete hardened, forming into a solid figure.  
  
In moments the concrete had stiffened, and it confined Carol inside a perfectly shaped, dark emerald cube, which was peculiarly the same color as Rogue's eyes. Then a flash of white light overflowed the room and both Rogue and the professor vanished. ***  
  
A/N: So what did y'all think about this chap? In my next chap I think I'm gonna write something a lot of y'all have been waiting for! Chap. 9 will be loaded soon. PLEASE REVIEW!!! Cam:. Chao! 


	9. Chapter 9: Red Rose

THANKS MUCH FOR Y'ALL REVIEWS! I'm glad to see that I'm on somebody's favorites list! And now, here is chap. 9!  
  
  
  
Chapter 9: Red Rose  
  
Rogue's eyes slowly opened as she woke. She sat up and found she was in her large, comfy bed. The battle with Carol was over and she was thankful to have her body back even if she still couldn't touch anyone. That was one thing that made her envious of Carol: touch. Somehow Carol had found a way to control powers that weren't even hers, powers that truly belonged to Rogue. But how? Rogue supposed she just hadn't been training hard enough in her personal sessions with Xavier, or maybe there was simply just something wrong with her; either way, she was too worn to think about it now. Thinking about her uncontrolled powers made her feel depressed and after all the fighting with Carol, she didn't need any more stress.  
  
Rogue turned over in her bed and glanced at her digital clock. It was 5:30 in the afternoon. *How long have Ah been asleep? *  
  
She stood up and stretched her body's joints listlessly. She strode over to her closet and threw on her customary gothic clothing along with make up on her face, but for some reason she didn't apply as much as usual.  
  
Then the door of the room opened and Jean entered. She was carrying a plate of food in her hands.  
  
"Oh, you're awake," Jean noticed as she came in.  
  
Rogue didn't speak; she just stared at the tall red-haired girl. "Ya brought me food?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, I figured you would need some good nourishment after battling that mutant Carol took so much out of you," Jean replied.  
  
"Ya know 'bout me fightin' her?"  
  
"Yeah, everybody does. The professor went on and on about how determined you were and he's really proud of you," Jean said, yet with a small, noticeable twinge of envy in her words.  
  
Rogue smiled slightly. *The professor's proud o' me. *  
  
Jean sat the plate down on a dresser and settled down at the foot of Rogue's bed in front of the gothic girl.  
  
"Listen, Rogue, I know we've had our differences and disagreements, but even though you might not believe me I do care what happens to you," Jean said earnestly.  
  
Rogue paused, not sure what to say. She had been jealous of Jean for so long and still mildly was, but maybe it was time for them to call a truce.  
  
"Thanks for worryin' 'bout me, Jean," Rogue said with a half-smile. "Ya not so bad yourself."  
  
The two shared a smile for a moment that for once didn't feel awkward or false.  
  
"Now get outta mah room, Miss Perfect-Ah don't like spectators when Ah'm eatin'," Rogue joked with her harsh persona returning.  
  
Jean laughed a little and did as the slightly younger girl requested. Even though the rare moment of friendliness between them would probably never happen again Jean was glade it had. She didn't like being enemies with anyone. Although she and Rogue would never be best friends at least they could have some sort of mutual understanding, which was important since after all, they were teammates.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Once Rogue had finished eating she went downstairs and into the living room to find Kitty, Kurt and Evan watching television.  
  
"So what's on TV?" Rogue asked nonchalantly.  
  
Kurt turned around and hugged his sister tightly.  
  
"I'm so glade you're all vight!" he said.  
  
"Uh, yeah, could ya let go o' me now, Kurt? Ah can't breathe," she said and he quickly released her.  
  
Kitty chuckled and stood up. "You know, we were all just about to, like, go to the café, you want to come? It is Friday afternoon, you know?"  
  
"Friday? How long have Ah been asleep?"  
  
"Exactly a two days, not counting today. You're lucky, at least you got to miss Mr. Tyler's boring lectures in science class," Evan said.  
  
"Anyway, you coming with us or not? I mean, I, like, figured since your all rested and everything you'd need to get out of the house-please," Kitty pressed.  
  
"All right, if it'll make ya happy," Rogue said.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Remy sat in the booth of the café that Rogue would traditionally sit in and drank some coffee. He had on his worn brown trench coat and was staring outside watching people amble the active streets of New York, which resembled the busyness of his hometown New Orleans. For a moment, he let his mind wander back to the very few good points in his childhood.  
  
A group of teenagers entering the café interrupted his daydreaming. Then he realized one of them was Rogue, whom he recalled was his assignment.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Rogue, Kitty, Kurt and Evan headed for the booth they usually sat in, though someone was already there. Rogue looked in anger as she found it was Gambit seated in THEIR cubicle.  
  
"Can't ya sit someplace else?" Rogue snapped at him.  
  
"Why? Don' see your name written on de seat," he retorted; yet sent her a charismatic grin.  
  
"Come on, let's just find another booth," Kitty said, before Rogue could snap at him again.  
  
Kurt and Evan seemed to agree with Kitty; it was supposed to be a relaxing afternoon and they didn't want to start it off wrong by getting into a petty fight with one of Magneto's associates. Rogue followed her friends since majority ruled that decision, but she would have preferred to punch the Cajun in his face for having the nerve to sit in their booth.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
A short while later, the four teens had forgotten all about the small confrontation with Gambit earlier and were talking and laughing.  
  
"Here you are, ma'am," said a waiter, handing Rogue a single red rose with a note wrapped around its stem.  
  
"This ain't mine," Rogue told him.  
  
"Well, the young gentleman that's in the booth across from you told me to give it to you," the waiter said.  
  
"What gentleman!" Kitty said with enthusiasm as her eyes frantically searched the room for a possible admirer of her friend.  
  
"Looks like Rogue's got a fan we didn't know about, eh, Kurt?" Evan asked with a smile.  
  
Kurt nodded and gave Rogue a playfully suspicious look. Rogue blushed slightly at the thought of having an admirer.  
  
The waiter looked around, "I believe he's just left, but if you'd like me to go after him-"  
  
"No! No, it's fine. Ah'm, um, Ah think Ah'm gonna go home now," Rogue nervously told her friends.  
  
For Rogue, one of the toughest, no-nonsense girls at Bayville High School to have an admirer was nearly embarrassing. She was always scaring boys away with her stiff attitude and for someone to have the valor to send her a rose, in front of her friends no less, meant she was losing her touch with maintaining her frosty personality; she thought someone sending her a rose made her seem weak and she wanted to run to the mansion and hide before anyone could see her like that.  
  
"Well, we're going to go to a party at Amanda's house in a little while, you don't want to come?" Evan asked.  
  
"No, Ah just want t' go home an' curl up in front of the TV," Rogue replied.  
  
"You don't want a ride?" Kurt asked, worried about her as he always was.  
  
"No, the mansion ain't far from here. Ah'll walk, fresh air will do me good," Rogue said and with that she departed from the café.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Aren't y' goin' t' read de note, chèrie?" came a suave voice.  
  
Rogue stopped her pacing down the street immediately, but did not turn to face him.  
  
"What are ya talkin' about?"  
  
"On de rose's stem, dere be a note," he replied.  
  
She sighed and unwrapped the note from around the rose's long, green stalk. She read it silently:  
  
There is something between us that you won't admit we share. You pretend you don't want me or care, but you are how I breathe, my air. And in your time of need or despair, I will always be there, because not to a single or a thousand roses could your beauty be compared.  
  
Rogue barely held back crying at how beautiful the note was; no one had ever written anything for her before. She quickly regained her composure and continued to uphold her icy façade. She spun around to face him.  
  
"What are ya tryin' t' pull!" Rogue accused angrily.  
  
"Not'ing, Gambit jus' want t' express how he feel," he replied.  
  
Remy leaned down, his warm breath caressing the side of her face, and he whispered into her ear, "An' Gambit feel t'ings real strong 'bout you."  
  
She pushed him away. "Yeah? Well, ya gonna FEEL a lot o' pain if ya don' leave me alone! Besides ya don' even know me! So how can ya feel anything?!"  
  
"Can't explain it, petite," he replied. "But den again some t'ings jus' fate."  
  
"Yeah? Well Ah don' believe in fate!" Rogue stated sharply and began to walk away from him.  
  
"What about love?"  
  
Rogue didn't answer him, she just continued to walk home at a hurried pace.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
That night Rogue was lying in her bed and found she couldn't sleep. She stared across the room at the small trashcan that she'd thrown the rose and note into when she'd first gotten home.  
  
*Was he serious? Ah guess Ah do feel a tiny spark when he's near me, but so what! He's probably jus' messin' with mah head anyway! He looks like the type t' love 'em an' leave 'em. If Ah see him again Ah'm gonna punch his lights out! Still, there's somethin' he makes me feel- *  
  
Her mind baffled itself trying to figure out Gambit's true motives. Before she'd realized it, Rogue had gotten out of bed and taken the rose and note from the trashcan, then placed them in front of her, atop her nightstand. With the red rose reflecting in her emerald eyes, Rogue finally began to fall asleep in her bed. Though as her eyes closed for the last time before her slumber she didn't see the rose, but instead, for a moment, she saw a flicker of eyes, red on black. Then she finally fell asleep.  
  
A/N: Sorry, no BHB in this chap. But Brotherhood fans, y'all don't fret, next chap will have plenty of the 'Hood boys. As always REVIEW PLEASE this chap!!! Cam:. Chao! 


	10. Chapter 10: Villains Collide

THANKs everyone for your reviews! Y'all know I need 'em to keep me writing! Now, here is chap. 10!  
  
Chapter 10: Villains Collide  
  
"Good morning, Julia."  
  
The girl awoke to find food beside her in the cage. Her captors had been feeding her well, which made her wonder what they were up to.  
  
"How do you know my name?" she asked Mystique, who was standing in front of her cage.  
  
"I had a friend hack into some government files and find out some things about you," Mystique replied.  
  
"Well, then your friend should know I don't go by that name."  
  
"Yes, of course, you were code named Oblivion by the scientists that worked on you in the Nevada institution called Embros, correct?"  
  
Julia nodded to confirm and began to eat her food.  
  
"Your power would be a great help against Magneto, but I just can't risk you switching sides. I suppose I'll just have to use you as bait as I had planned," Mystique said.  
  
"And what if I don't want to be your bait? When my power is built back up you won't be able to force me to do anything," Julia informed her.  
  
Mystique chuckled, "That would be true if I hadn't been adding mutation- suppressing drugs to your food."  
  
Julia spat out the food on her plate. "You bitch!"  
  
"You didn't really think I was that idiotic, did you? I mean, perhaps Wanda would be, but as for me, I think ahead of my enemies and my prisoners. As I said, I've done research on your abilities so I could find ways to keep you from escaping," Mystique said.  
  
The blue-skinned woman began walking toward the door, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to take care of, enjoy you're meal, Julia."  
  
The encaged teenager threw the plate of half-consumed food at the electric bars of the cage and it instantly blasted to pieces.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"GIVE IT BACK!" Rogue demanded, chasing after the spike-thrower.  
  
Evan was swiftly rolling on his skateboard far in front of the gothic girl. Clamped in his fingers was the red rose Remy had given her yesterday.  
  
"But you never told me, or Kurt, or Kitty who gave you this rose yesterday at the café, Roguey!" he yelled over his shoulder to her with a grin.  
  
While withholding the rose, Evan knew he had finally found a way to make the rough rogue embarrassed and he wanted to savor this interesting little discovery about her. Thus, for a while now, he'd been making Rogue chase him from every section of the X manor, wanting to see if she'd just give up and tell him the answer to a question everyone in Xavier's School wanted to know: who had given her the rose?  
  
He noticed his pursuer was catching up with him, so he increased his speed. He rolled straight into the kitchen as someone was lifting a large pot of freshly baked dinner out of the oven; it was a foreign dish, probably something Storm had somehow learned to cook in her time in Africa. Evan saw this and tried to find a means of avoidance. Rogue was getting dangerously close to him now, kitchen counters were at both his sides and his aunt was straight ahead at the oven. He was trapped!  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Well, has Quicksilver made his decision?" Mystique queried as she entered the Brotherhood house.  
  
Lance was sitting next to Fred on the couch, while Todd was crawling down a wall to get a good view of Mystique. Suddenly, a rush of air could be felt and Pietro immediately appeared before the shape-shifter.  
  
"Yes, I have," Pietro said. "Mystique, thanks for the offer, but I'm not giving you an opportunity to kill my father."  
  
"Pietro, don't you understand your choice not only affects your future, but your teammates' as well. If you side with Magneto you'll have sentenced your friends to death at my hand when the time comes for the battle I spoke of before," she told him.  
  
"She's got a point, yo," Todd said.  
  
"Yeah, what IF Magneto deserts us like he did your sister? You would have protected him and gotten us killed for nothing," added Lance.  
  
"No! Forget it, Mystique! Now leave, or I'll throw you out myself," Pietro said sharply.  
  
"Fine! I don't need to be talked down to by a bunch of weakling losers that are disgraceful to the Brotherhood name!" With that, Mystique stomped out of the house and slammed the door behind her.  
  
"Now what are we going to do?" Fred asked.  
  
"We're going to prove to everyone, including my father, that I didn't train a bunch of losers," Pietro answered.  
  
"Really? And how may I ask are we going to that, oh great leader?" Lance asked with sarcasm.  
  
"We're going to beat my father's Acolytes to getting that mutant girl back," Pietro said. "Come on."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
CRASH!!!  
  
Evan inevitably collided with his aunt. The pot containing food was tossed up in the air and as gravity pulled it down the dish fell upside down, perfectly atop Storm's head. The weather-witch's pure white hair was stained with her own cooking.  
  
"EVAN!!!" Ororo screamed.  
  
"Sorry, Auntie!" he called as he raced on his skateboard into the living room, Rogue still following.  
  
Suddenly, he stopped. He didn't hear Rogue stomping after him anymore. He turned around and she wasn't there. Then Evan saw her leap from her hiding place behind the couch and grab his arm, but it had been a blur to him because she had been so fast.  
  
"Got ya now, Porcupine!" Rogue said triumphantly.  
  
He dangled the rose above her head. "Just tell me who gave you the rose and I promise I'll give it back-since you want it so bad and all," Evan teased.  
  
"Ah don' want it THAT bad, it's jus'-"  
  
"Well, if you didn't REALLY want it then why were you chasing me around the house?" he quizzed.  
  
She growled, "Jus' give it!"  
  
She tried to reach for the rose, but he pulled it back. He continued snatching the rose from her grasp and was retreating backwards into what he'd hoped was his skateboard for another get away, but was really just a wall.  
  
Finally, Rogue managed to grab the rose's blossom in the palm of her hand while Evan tightly held the stem. They tugged the rose back and forth.  
  
"Evan, stop bein' so immature!" Rogue yelled. "Stop it before ya rip-"  
  
She stopped as she felt Evan pull the rose's stem too hard and now all that was left in the palms of her hands were a scatter of scarlet petals. The beautiful rose Remy had given her was ruined.  
  
"Sorry," Evan stammered, now afraid of what she would do since he'd helped to destroy her rose.  
  
"Ah'm gonna kill ya!" she yelled and her fist flew threw the air, headed for Evan's face.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Wanda, get ready."  
  
Mystique entered the house with a crucial expression.  
  
The teenage girl wearing a long, scarlet coat looked at her, "Get ready for what?"  
  
"The Acolytes. I've purposely been allowing them to track me since I came from the Brotherhood house and as I've told you before it's time make good use of our prisoner," Mystique said. "Magneto should be with them to help capture the girl."  
  
"Wait a minute, you were at the Brotherhood house? Did you talk to my brother?" Wanda asked with anger creeping into her voice.  
  
"I'll explain that later, right now we have more vital things to worry about. You stay in here, I'm going to prepare Oblivion, I don't want her powers suddenly activating while we're fighting Magneto and the Acolytes," Mystique said and went to the room where Julia was being kept.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Oh, here to give me more medicated food?" Julia inquired mordantly.  
  
Mystique smiled deviously. "On the contrary, I didn't come here to give you food, but as for the medication part-" she trailed off and before the blink of an eye she had injected Julia with a substance contained in a needle. "Have a nice nap."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Evan ducked and Rogue's fist made contact with the wall behind him. He looked at her strangely as she just stood there staring at him. No, she wasn't staring at him, but at the wall behind him. There was a fist-size hole in it!  
  
"Whoa, man, I'm glad you didn't hit my face!" Evan said, observing the hole in the wall. "But since when did you get so strong?"  
  
Rogue stared at her hands, "Ah don' know. How did Ah do that?"  
  
"You'd better go see the professor about it," he suggested.  
  
"Evan!" called an irate voice from the kitchen.  
  
"Coming, Aunt 'Ro," he said with a sigh. *I bet she's still covered in food. I know I'm grounded now. I probably won't be able to skateboard for a month and I just got off punishment two days ago! * he thought. He noticed his friend walking away. "Hey, Rogue, where are you going?"  
  
"Ya're right, Ah need t' see the professor 'bout this," she replied and continued leaving the living room.  
  
"Rogue," he said. "I really am sorry about what I did to your rose."  
  
She nodded as if she would eventually forgive him and Evan dragged himself to the kitchen, prepared for some severe punishment.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Are you sure she went in there?" asked Piotr with his Russian accent.  
  
Piotr, an Acolyte code named Colossus, was crouched behind a crowd of large bushes with his comrades. The thick woods at the back of Mystique and Wanda's hideout house attested as good cover for Magneto's elite mutants.  
  
"Of course I am, mate, I saw the shape-shifter go inside," answered John who was an Australian accented, fair-haired boy.  
  
Gambit narrowed his crimson on black eyes suspiciously, "Non, somet'ing not right. Trackin' de blue woman was a little too easy."  
  
"Look, we could stay out here and argue, or we could go inside and find out. If you won't go then I'll do it myself!" John said anxiously.  
  
Piotr sighed, "Perhaps he's right. We should at least go to be sure."  
  
Gambit grimaced. The Cajun knew he wasn't going to win this argument. "All right, let's go den."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Pietro, tell me again what we're doing here," Lance said as he was sitting in the driver's side of his jeep.  
  
The Brotherhood boys were parked across the street from a two-story, white house. The house was nice, almost elegant, but it needed a new coat of paint and some tending done to the garden. The wood from which the house was made also unquestionably needed to be replaced because it looked as if it had rotted quite a bit from old age. To Lance the place appeared abandon, so why had Pietro made him drive there?  
  
"We're going to get to the mutant my father wants before his Acolytes do. Whoever has this mutant obviously has some serious power and that's why my father wants him. Anyway, I had thrown a tracer on the back of Mystique's skirt so fast she didn't even notice when she had came to see us earlier. This tracking device proves this is where she's been hiding," Pietro explained as he held a small metal object in his hands. The device had a map of the city on it and a red dot was blinking in the same spot that the house across the street was located; it was obviously a little piece of equipment Pietro had barrowed from his father's lair.  
  
"I hope all that training Pietro made us go through kicks in when we go in there," Fred muttered.  
  
"Me too, yo," Todd agreed. The four boys made their way over to the house.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Mystique was about to leave Julia's room when she felt the floor tremble.  
  
"Avalanche," she muttered and headed to the living room, which was where she suspected the earth-quaking mutant was displaying his powers.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"You were brave to show your face here, Brother," Wanda said bitterly as her eyes fell upon Pietro, who was standing next to Lance.  
  
"Brave, indeed, or perhaps foolish," Mystique added as she came to her partner's side. "Now if you'd all be so kind as to leave, we're expecting company."  
  
"Oh, we're not going anywhere until we get the mutant," Pietro said.  
  
"Fine by me," Wanda said. "It'll be more fun if you stay." She made the entire room shake and objects began to fly from all directions striking the Brotherhood boys.  
  
Though Quicksilver dodged every item Wanda aimed at him with his incredible speed.  
  
"Remember the plan," Lance said to Fred and Todd. The two nodded.  
  
Lance left his teammates and started to search the rooms for the mutant. Toad and Blob began to fight Mystique, hoping they could remember the stressful combat training Pietro had put them through.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Suddenly, the Acolytes burst in from the back of the house.  
  
Todd recognized one of them immediately. "Oh, great, it's the card-thrower that nearly set me on fire last time!" Todd yelled to Fred. Todd started to hop toward the door.  
  
"Hey, wait a minute, where are you going?" Fred asked as he hit Mystique with a strong left fist that sent her across the room. *Pietro's training did pay off, * Fred thought. Fred had only managed to hit Mystique once, but that was one more than any of the other Brotherhood members had, so he was proud; though he figured it had been simple luck to catch the shape- shifter off guard in a fight.  
  
"Call me a coward, but the plan was to deal with Wanda and Mystique, not the Acoly-" Todd started, but his last word was interrupted when he ducked to circumvent a wild gush of fire from Pyro.  
  
"I agree," Fred said and the two Brotherhood boys fled.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Well, I finally get to meet Magneto's infamous Acolytes," Mystique said. "I knew that pig would send his minions to do his dirty work."  
  
"Enough talk! Hand over the mutant!" Pyro commanded.  
  
"My, you're an impatient one, aren't you? Well, since you're so eager you'll die first--" Mystique lunged forward with a hard kick to John's face. The blond boy fell over. Colossus covered his body in organic metal and attacked Mystique with Pyro's help after he quickly got back to a fighting stance.  
  
"Gambit, find the mutant!" Colossus said while he was preoccupied with Mystique.  
  
Gambit did as he was told and began probing the house.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"I am going to destroy you if it takes an eternity!" Wanda screamed as she was fighting with Pietro across from Mystique.  
  
He smiled and swiftly evaded a large bookcase that she had thrown at him with her powers. "Sorry, Sis, but you're just too slow," he told her mockingly.  
  
That insult only made her more enraged and the walls of the room began to pull closer to them as if gravity was trying to heave them inward, which was exactly what Pietro wanted. He had a plan and Wanda was falling for perfectly.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"This must be the mutant," Lance muttered.  
  
He carefully gaited into the room. He didn't know what her power was, but he'd heard it was immense so he didn't want to risk waking her. Though he did not know Mystique had used such a strong drug on her that even if she were in the middle of a hectic freeway she wouldn't wake.  
  
He bent down to get a better look at her in the cage and saw she was soundly asleep, but noticed the glowing bars around her. How was he going to get the cage open? He didn't have any tool he could use. Then a glowing orange playing card floated down to the top of the cage. Suddenly he remembered meeting the mutant the card belonged to and threw his body to the floor as it exploded.  
  
Lance looked up to find he was at the feet of the Cajun card-thrower.  
  
"Sorry 'bout de mess," Gambit quipped as the smoke cleared with a cocky smile.  
  
Lance dusted himself off as he stood up and saw the cage was nothing but metal wreckage now. Gambit was about to pick up Julia when he felt the floor shaking and nearly fell, had he not caught his balance.  
  
"Oh, so you want t' play wit' Gambit?" the Cajun asked.  
  
Lance half-smiled and the floor erupted into waves that knocked Gambit on his back.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"What's the matter, Wanda? Getting tired?" Pietro asked.  
  
"Yeah, getting tired of you!" she yelled and not only were the walls being pulled at, but now the ceiling as well.  
  
Wanda knew she was getting severely worn down. Her powers couldn't tolerate constant use without any sort of resting point for so long.  
  
Then Pietro saw that the ceiling was definitely coming down. "I'd love to stay here and enjoy our sibling rivalry, but I have to get going now," he said.  
  
The ceiling cracked and then fell in on Wanda with the rest of the old, flimsy house following its pattern. Mystique and her opponents fled from the house before it could cave in completely.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"We'll finish dis later," Gambit said and leapt through the window with the help of his bo-staff.  
  
Lance grimaced as the room began to fall apart around him. He grabbed Julia and followed Gambit's escape route through the window. As soon as Lance made it outside the entire house yielded into itself.  
  
A/N: I know a lot of people are going to kill me (LOL) for having majority of this chap about the villains of the X-men (hence this chap's title). Sorry about that, but don't worry there will be more Rogue and the gang in the next chap-not to mention MAYBE some Rogue/Remy. And y'all PLEASE REVIEW! 


	11. Chapter 11: Expectations

Thanks for y'all reviews! Here is chap.11!  
  
  
  
Chapter 11: Expectations  
  
  
  
"Rogue, I believe what has happened is you've retained Carol Danvers's powers permanently even though she's unable to present a threat to you anymore."  
  
Xavier sat behind his office desk, concluding his explanation for Rogue still having Carol's mutant abilities. Rogue was sitting in front of him with a surprised expression.  
  
"Wait, so you're sayin' since Ah absorbed her for so long Ah've got her amazing strength an' invulnerability for good?" she asked.  
  
"Yes," Xavier confirmed.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
After thanking the professor once again for his help in stopping Carol, Rogue left his office and made her way downstairs.  
  
She couldn't believe it! She was actually going to have powers that didn't involve having to absorb someone. The torment she'd gone through with Carol wasn't in vain after all. The whole battle for dominance of her body had left her the gifts of her enemy.  
  
It was a bright, warm Saturday and Rogue stepped outside of the mansion remembering her promise to a few of her X-men friends that she'd meet them at the mall once the professor had finished talking with her. She strode on the sidewalk and a contently lilt song hummed from her lips.  
  
Suddenly, she heard a humming much louder than her own, the roar of an engine nearing. It was a blur until the motorcycle came to a screeching halt in front of her causing Rogue to be shaken a bit and her heart feeling as if it'd skipped a beat.  
  
"Didn't startle y' too bad, did I, chèrie?" Remy asked with smile as he sat atop his Harley.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
*I'm going to kill Pietro for this! When I get my hands on him and my father they're going to pay for everything! * Wanda thought as she dusted debris off her clothing.  
  
She was in the basement and had just awakened from her fall. She was lucky the floor on which the roof had caved in had a weak spot in its planks. She had caused the floor to break in its fragile area with her weight adding to the heaviness of the collapsed roof. And she had fallen straight to the dark basement of the house and though she had been knocked unconscious a while from hitting the concrete floor, she was bruised, but still alive.  
  
Since there were no windows to escape through she knew the only way out was to move some of the roof remains held by the floor above her. She used her powers to lift and remove the rubble. Wanda then used her powers to move a tall, dusty filing cabinet to her. She used the filing cabinet as a type of latter to let her climb back up through the huge hole in the house's first floor.  
  
*I'm going to get revenge on both my father and Pietro, but first I'll find Mystique. She's got explaining to do for not helping me while I was trapped in that damn basement! * Wanda thought as she left the destroyed house.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"I can't believe you two were such cowards!" Pietro said, as he continued to scold Todd and Fred for abandoning him and Lance in the middle of a fight.  
  
The toad-like boy and the massive teenager were inside the Brotherhood house, seated on the couch. Lance was sitting in an armchair across from them.  
  
Todd stood up and tried to defend their actions, "We couldn't stay, yo! When the Acolytes showed up we sort of, um, got-"  
  
"Scared," Lance supplied.  
  
"No! We got-okay, so maybe 'scared' is sort of the word for it," Fred said.  
  
Pietro sighed, "Look, just forget it and next time think about your teammates' welfare in addition to your own. Besides, we have more important things to worry about now."  
  
"Yeah, like what are we going to do with the mutant? Isn't your father going to be a little pissed at you for stealing his precious weapon?" Lance asked the silver-haired boy.  
  
Pietro grimaced and then said, "Yeah, he probably will be. But you know what? I'm glad. Even though Mystique is a dishonest traitor, she had a point before, what if my father abandons me like he did Wanda? He has used me to save his life now more than once and I haven't even gotten so much as a 'thank you' for it! No, I didn't give Mystique my father's new location and do any of you know why?"  
  
All the other boys looked at him with blank expressions.  
  
Then Fred decided to speak up, "Because you don't know where Magneto is either?"  
  
"No," Pietro said. "Because-"  
  
"Oh, I know, yo! Because you're an idiot and you're just gonna get us killed for Magneto's insanity like Mystique said, right?" Todd said with sarcasm.  
  
"No, I'm telling you he won't tell Mystique where Magneto is because HE doesn't even know himself," Fred insisted.  
  
"No, I agree with Todd's reason," Lance said with a half-smile. "I think Pietro's just an idiot."  
  
"No, I still think, um, wait-what were we talking about again?" Fred asked densely.  
  
"Argh! SHUT UP already! Listen," Pietro said with a serious tone. The other three boys finally stopped their joking and actually attentively heard the pain trying to be concealed in the silver-haired boy's voice. "I didn't tell Mystique my father's location because after realizing the truth in her words, I'm going to use this mutant we've captured to kill him myself."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"What do ya want now?"  
  
Rogue stood in front of Remy with her arms folded and an irritated expression upon her face.  
  
"Look, I don' expect you t' believe me, but I do have a strong attraction t' y' an' I want t' know everyt'ing 'bout y'," he said. "Please, let me prove that I'm serious, petite."  
  
"An' how exactly are ya goin' t' do that?" Rogue asked.  
  
"I want t' take y' out t' someplace special."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Get on dis bike an' I'll show y'," he said grinning. She made a doubtful and uncertain face. "What? Y' don' trust ol' Remy? Or y' jus' afraid?"  
  
It was almost as if he was challenging her, daring her to trust him. And after battling Carol, Rogue wasn't about to turn down any challenges now.  
  
She seated herself behind Remy on the motorcycle. "Fine, take me t' this 'special' place, but try anything an' Ah'll suck the life outta ya!"  
  
"Fair enough," he said. Rogue nearly blushed as he placed her arms around his waste. "Hold on." He revved his cycle as they flew down the road.  
  
At first, Rogue squeezed his waste since she was nearly terrified at how fast they were going, but quickly slacked the intensity of her hold when she remembered how strong she was now due to absorbing Carol. Despite the initial strong hold, Remy was actually enjoying the feeling of Rogue hugging his body so tightly. Though he quickly pushes away the thoughts of this joy from his mind, being with Rogue had to stay business, and not become pleasure.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Hope you slept well-"  
  
Pietro was sitting in a plush, comfortable chair across from Julia, who was waking up in what used to be Mystique's bed before she left the Brotherhood. Mystique, without a doubt, had the most luxurious room in the house whether she was living there or not.  
  
"You'd be no help to us with your powers exhausted," he said, finishing his statement.  
  
Julia sat up and could feel her powers were finally, but steadily restoring themselves with the absence of Mystique's drugged food in her body.  
  
Pietro got up and walked over to her. He stood over the girl, examining her face and strange hair color with his pale blue eyes.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked.  
  
"They call me Quicksilver," he replied with a boastful smile, as if his name were famous. "And your name is?"  
  
"Oblivion."  
  
"Oblivion?" Pietro repeated curiously. "You know, my father did never tell me what your mutation was."  
  
She lifted an amused eyebrow, "Would you like a demonstration?" Though she knew she couldn't at this point, she wasn't strong enough yet, so she was merely playing with him, curious to see his reaction to her statement.  
  
The silver-haired boy shook his head. "I'd expected you to say something like that. My advice to you is not to use your powers against me, unless you want me to hand you over to my father in your current weakened state. And if I know my father Magneto, he'll treat you a lot worse than even Mystique or I put together could," he told her.  
  
Julia had heard her last captor, Mystique, discuss Magneto before with Wanda and she knew by the way they spoke about him that he was a dangerous man. She paused, making her decision.  
  
"Fine," she answered, "I'll do what you want, for now."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"After you, ma belle."  
  
Remy stood aside and allowed Rogue to enter the restaurant ahead of him. He had originally intended to take her to a fancy bistro uptown, but for some strange reason he'd changed his mind. He instead took her to one of his favorite eating-places since he came to Bayville, New York called Rene's. At Rene's the Cajun food was decent and it was probably the closest he could get to New Orleans' cooking since that type of eating was so scarce in the North.  
  
After a waitress had them seated at a table Rogue observed the surroundings. It was a slightly smoky, crowded place with dim lighting. She'd never been anywhere like this before and was a bit excited, but afraid all at once.  
  
"What would you like?" the waitress asked them.  
  
Remy requested a spicy dish from the menu and since Rogue hadn't eaten any Cajun food before he ordered for her as well. The waitress left the two once she had jotted down their orders.  
  
"Why did ya take me here?" Rogue asked him.  
  
"I was goin' t' take y' t' one o' dem fancy eatin' places, but den I realized dat wasn't me, an' I want y' t' know de real me, jus' like I want t' know de real y', Rogue," he replied. "Dis place reminds me of my home an' since y' from de South like me, I thought y' would like it."  
  
She smiled, he sounded as if he were actually being sincere with her. "Ah do like it, Ah think it's cozy. Ah've never liked those stuck-up, ritzy places anyway," she told him. "So, where in the South did ya live exactly?"  
  
Remy grimaced as her question caused him to remember the arduous past he'd left in his old home town. "Let's jus' say it was a place I needed t' escape," he said.  
  
"Is that why ya joined Magneto?" she asked.  
  
He sighed, "Oui."  
  
The waitress then brought their food to the table and Rogue devoured the zesty meal as if she'd never had anything more delicious.  
  
"I see y' like Cajun food," Remy remarked with a chuckle. She looked quite entertaining eating at such a fast pace, though he was already through with his own meal.  
  
She swallowed some food and managed not to blush at realizing how ridiculous she must've appeared. "Actually, this is mah first time eatin' this type o' food," she said.  
  
"Could have fooled me, petite," he commented still chuckling. Rogue kicked his ankle with the tip of her boot causing him to wince slightly, but he continued to laugh. "I'm sorry for laughin' at y', but sittin' here in front o' y' an' watchin' how y' lappin' up dat food, Remy can't help it!"  
  
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips and she found she couldn't resists giggling either. Rogue finally let down her guard and laughed along with him.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Thank ya, for takin' me out an' all."  
  
Rogue was standing at the gates of the X-men mansion as Remy stood by his motorcycle in front of her. It was nightfall and their date was coming to a close. The time she'd spent with Magneto's Cajun recruit had been more enjoyable than she'd predicted; he didn't seem to be the completely terrible and self-centered person she'd expected him to be at all.  
  
"It was my pleasure," Remy said and lightly kissed her gloved hand.  
  
"G'night," she said softly.  
  
"Bonsoir," he said, biding her the same. He got on his Harley and road away.  
  
Rogue walked into the mansion and felt like singing. She hadn't been on a date with anyone for a while after her absorbing abilities had activated and she didn't notice how much she missed just going out on an intimate dinner until that moment. As she entered the house she was almost tackled by her teammates who all were wearing angry looks.  
  
"Why didn't you show up at the mall? Rogue, we were, like, all worried about you!" came Kitty's voice, who was the first person to say what the other X-men were thinking.  
  
"Ja, vhere vere you!" Kurt said angrily. "Ve thought someone had hurt you!"  
  
"Jean was about to call the police!" Scott added.  
  
"Stripes, Chuck and me want a word with ya," Logan said as he entered the room.  
  
Rogue grimaced. *Just wonderful! Jean an' Scott stay out together without tellin' anyone a thing an' they barely get an angry glare! Ah stay out only thirty minutes past curfew an' Ah'll probably get a nightlong lecture! * Rogue thought as she followed Logan to Xavier's office.  
  
Translations:  
  
Bonsoir: Goodnight.  
  
Oui: Yes.  
  
Chèrie: Dear  
  
A/N: If ya liking what I do, then REVIEW!!!-Cam:. Chao! 


	12. Chapter 12: Abandoned As Children

THANK YOU for those of y'all who did send me reviews! Remember I NEED reviews to keep me writing this story to the end! Anyhow, here's chap.12!  
  
  
  
Chapter 12: Abandoned As Children  
  
"Well, well, look who I've got here," said Sabertooth with a frightening grin that revealed every one of his sharp teeth.  
  
It was a cloudy morning and Sabertooth was across from the wreckage that had been Mystique and Wanda's old hideout house.  
  
"Is Magneto already putting Oblivion to work with her powers?" the shape- shifter asked as she stood in front of him with a false smile.  
  
He lifted a curious, bushy eyebrow. *She thinks that Magneto finally has the mutant? If she doesn't have Oblivion then who the hell does? * Sabertooth thought and did not reply to her question so she asked another.  
  
"Why exactly did you decide to grace me with your sickening presence, Sabertooth?" she queried.  
  
"Magneto sent me here to find out if Wanda's really dead. One of his Acolytes told him they saw her get buried by the house when it caved in," he replied.  
  
Mystique eyed him, "I'm sure he didn't send you because he was worried about his daughter's safety, but he is concerned as to if she still poses a threat to him, correct?"  
  
"Of course, but speaking of daughters, or rather children in general, the matter of your offspring was always why Magneto could never fully trust your loyalty to him like he could me," he informed her with a proud grin in being Magneto's most confided. "And when he gets Oblivion, the X-Men will be wiped out for good and your children will be no exception."  
  
She glared at him with her yellow eyes, "What do you mean my children will be no exception?"  
  
"Magneto knows you probably will want to protect your two children that sided with the X-Men - that little blue demon and the rogue," he said.  
  
"And what if I do?" she quizzed.  
  
"Don't think Magneto will protect you when the time comes-you've betrayed him and he's going to make sure you're as dead as your children are when his plan plays out," he told her.  
  
"Don't be so sure, Victor," she said with her hatred for him thick in her voice. She morphed into a raven and flew away.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Here, I brought you some food."  
  
Pietro sat a plate with a sandwich atop it on the bed in front of Julia and he began to exit the room.  
  
"It's not drugged, is it?" she asked, in almost amusement to herself as she stared at the food.  
  
"What?" he asked slightly confused as he turned to face her.  
  
"Never mind, I'm starving," she said and bit into the sandwich.  
  
"I know it's not great, but none of my teammates' and I are exactly chefs," he said. He paused then started to leave again.  
  
"Wait, tell me, what do you have against him?"  
  
Pietro stared at her and then sat down in a chair nearby the bed, curious as to what she would say. "Who?"  
  
"Your father, you mentioned before he was Magneto. What did he do to you that makes you hate him so?" Oblivion inquired.  
  
"It's what he didn't do that causes me to hate him. I didn't realize it up until a few days ago, but now I see he never has cared for me. I mean, even when I was growing up all he could talk about was how I'd be able to benefit him as being his most loyal recruit since I was his son. But after all the times I've helped him, risked my own life to save him, not once has he said or shown any thing to display that he even gives a damn if I live or die!" Pietro said angrily.  
  
She looked into his eyes and saw the pain his father had caused. She wanted to sooth that pain; she knew what it was like to feel betrayed. But she couldn't help him with his anguish. She had to focus on getting back her strength so she could escape. He was the enemy, just like Mystique and Wanda were.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Rogue, you still haven't told ve vhere you vere last night!"  
  
Kurt was following his sister down the corridor that led to her room.  
  
"Kurt, will ya stop badgering me 'bout this! It's none o' ya business where Ah was!" Rogue snapped and slammed the door of her room on his face before he could go in.  
  
She sat down on her bed and Kurt appeared before her after he'd teleported behind the door she'd closed on him.  
  
"I'm vorried about you. You're my sister and, for the most part, the only family I have here. If something's vrong I vant to help," he said honestly.  
  
"Look, Ah appreciate ya worryin' 'bout me, but Ah'm fine! Ah promise, if Ah need any help ya'll be the first t' know," she said.  
  
He sighed, "All vight. Vell, I've got a date with Amanda tonight, vant to help me pick out vhat I should vear?"  
  
"O' course, sugah," Rogue replied and stood up. "Kurt?"  
  
"Ja?"  
  
"Ya always said ya wanted me t' be happy no matter what, right? Ah mean, if there's something that Ah think will be good for me, Ah should go for it, shouldn't Ah?" she asked hesitantly.  
  
"I know your life has been as hard, Rogue, because of your powers. You've always been sort of shut off from people and that's vhy I vorry about you so much. So if vhere's something that finally allows you to be happy I think you should definitely go after it," he advised.  
  
She smiled, "Thanks, Kurt. Ah think Ah will." *Maybe Kurt's right. Maybe Ah should let Remy in mah life * she thought.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Where is Oblivion?" Magneto demanded to know, his voice harsh and distressed.  
  
"We're not sure. We think Mystique still has her because the only other people that were there were the Brotherhood," Piotr replied, but his colossal body shifted nervously in his chair; he hated to be the one to deliver the news of failure to the Acolytes' superior.  
  
The Russian recruit and his other two teammates were all seated in front of the Magneto's metal desk.  
  
"Do none of you understand the importance of me attaining this mutant? If I wanted failure as the result of missions then I would have continued to use the Brotherhood!" Magneto said.  
  
Sabertooth then came into the office. "Wanda's not dead," he informed.  
  
"Damnit, I was hoping my daughter's demise would be at least one job my son could succeed at!" Magneto said.  
  
"And I've spoken to Mystique," Sabertooth continued, "She doesn't have the mutant, she thinks we do."  
  
Magneto looked puzzled for a moment, then his cold eyes lit up in realization. "Sabertooth, bring my son to me. I'd like to have a talk with him," the magnetic master said.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Rogue lay in bed that night, thinking about the events of the day. Her now permanent powers were causing some new little problems. One of which was every time she'd open a door in the mansion she'd rip the handle off because she would forget about her extra-strength. She was just adjusting to the fact that she needed to use only a fraction of that strength to simply open a door.  
  
Then somehow her mind wondered to the subject of Remy. Thinking of him made feelings she'd never experienced in her life arise.  
  
Suddenly, she heard a noise. She opened the glass door, which led to the balcony and carefully gaited outside. She got into a fighting position, "Who's out here?" Oddly, a part of her was hoping it was Remy.  
  
Then she noted a raven was perched atop the rail of the balcony. Slowly, it shifted into a blue-skinned woman.  
  
"Mystique," Rogue mumbled with contempt.  
  
"I'd prefer if you'd call me 'mother', but then again I know better then to expect that from you," she said.  
  
"What do ya want?"  
  
"Before I explain why I'm here, I want you to consider leaving this group of inane, human-protectors. I could defend you and Kurt much better than they could when the battle comes," Mystique said.  
  
"Yeah? Well, me an' Kurt like it jus' fine wit' the X-men. But that doesn't answer mah question-why are ya here?"  
  
"I believe Magneto has finally gotten the key piece to his plan of domination over humans and anyone against him will meet a terrible end with his new weapon in his control," Mystique informed her. "This weapon, it's a mutant called Oblivion and she could destroy us all. But you could stop it, you could absorb her and-"  
  
"I knew it!" Rogue exclaimed. "All you've ever wanted t' do since ya found out Ah was a mutant was t' use me for mah powers! Whatever scheme ya tryin' t' sucker me into ya might as well forget it! It's not gonna work because ya have let me down too many times, an' Ah'm sick o' ya usin' me!"  
  
"No, you don't understand, Rogue. I'm being honest with you. You're the only one that can stop this once Oblivion's powers restore themselves," Mystique protested. "I'm telling you the tru-"  
  
"Truth?" Rogue asked. "Ya wouldn't know what truth was if it kicked ya in the ass! Ah'm glad Kurt isn't out here t' hear ya tryin' t' play the role of a 'caring' mother after the way ya abandoned us!"  
  
Just as Mystique was about to comment she saw a light come on and the shadow of someone coming toward the balcony on which she and Rogue stood. In fear of getting into a late night battle with the X-men, Mystique swiftly shifted herself into a raven and flew from her daughter.  
  
"That's right, Mama, leave. Ya're real good at leavin' me alone," Rogue muttered as she watched Mystique fly away into the night.  
  
Kitty walked out to the balcony and yawned, wanting to go back to bed. "Hey, I heard some yelling and what are you, like, doing out here by yourself?" the gothic girl's roommate asked.  
  
"Jus' speakin' mah thoughts aloud," she replied and quietly went back to bed.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Have you found anything?"  
  
Trask was walking down a corridor of Embros with a group of black- uniformed, special military police.  
  
"No, sir, we haven't," replied an officer.  
  
"Well, keep looking! Tear apart every place in Nevada if you have to, but find Oblivion! The longer she's out of the aquatic camber, the more her mutation evolves. It's a wonder to me why she hasn't blown the surrounding cities apart by now, but find her before she does!" Trask said.  
  
The officer nodded, "We will." He, with the other soldiers following, left to continue their search.  
  
Trask entered an office inside the military base called Embros, which was a branch of the base Area 51 and where Julia had been kept. He strode into his brother's office with a worried expression.  
  
"They still haven't found a trace of her, have they?" Dr. Alex Vender asked. Trask was only Alex's half brother, but he was the single remaining family Alex had left in the world so he had a close bond with the older man.  
  
"No," replied Trask.  
  
"Big surprise," a voice stated sarcastically.  
  
The voice belonged to woman and she entered the office. She was middle aged, but appeared no older than perhaps a twenty year old. She was tall with pale skin and a curvy body. Her eyes were a strange hazel, or honey color, appearing to be a brown-tainted gold. Her hair was slightly below her shoulders and was rusty blond.  
  
"Meg," Trask said, "I'm glad you received my message."  
  
"Yeah, I did. And don't call me Meg; my name has been Flare for years now, Trask. Now, what do you want?" Flare questioned with disdain. She worked for Embros, and not by choice, so she often showed no respect for any of the scientists that she knew did some of the worst torture on test subjects, most of which were mutants like her.  
  
"We need you to hunt down Oblivion," Alex replied.  
  
"No, you can't ask me to do that! I want her back in that aquatic camber and without a scratch on her, as was promised!" Flare demanded.  
  
"Flare, you know when we call upon you to bring back an escaped mutant, they must be brought back, dead or alive. You are one of our best trackers. You stopped her once before in South America, you can do it again," Trask said.  
  
"But this time she is not weakened. If anything her powers are building up, evolving, becoming even stronger than before," Alex pointed out.  
  
"Well, then as I've said, she's to be brought back by any means necessary- breathing or not," Trask said.  
  
"And what if I refuse to go after her?" Flare inquired.  
  
"Then the deal is off. Meaning, you go back to the death sentence that the court had ruled for you. But understand that once we find her, no matter what you decide, Oblivion WILL be terminated before she can terminate us," Trask replied coldly.  
  
"Do you agree with his ultimatum?" she asked Alex, looking to him for patronage. He would usually disagree with Trask, as he had done when he'd helped Rogue, Hank and Evan escape Area 51 a while ago, but this time was different.  
  
"Given the situation and the possible results, I'll have to consent," Alex said, but regrettably.  
  
"Fine," Flare said grudgingly, feeling defeated in the argument. "I'll start tracking her tomorrow, you two just better keep up your part of the deal. "  
  
A/N: Okay, first off let me say: yes, I'm adding just ONE (only one) more mutant (Flare) only because she has a certain purpose, but I promise I won't be adding another new character for the rest of the story. Rogue and Gambit are still going to have lots of spotlight in the story, too and as usual PLEASE REVIEW!!! 


	13. Chapter 13: Evolving

Sorry it took a while to update I've quite a busy gal lately. But anyway, THANK Y'ALL so much for your reviews, they are MUCH appreciated! And I know y'all will like that there's Remy/Rogue interaction in this chap, so enjoy! Also, I've been musing about a Pietro/Julia(a.k.a Oblivion) type thingy, but I'm not sure yet, maybe I'll just have Oblivion kill Pietro and fall in love with Fred-LOL! (I'm kidding!) Pay no attention to my insanity cuz I'm just being hyper for the moment (had too much candy). Now, here's chap.13!  
  
  
  
Chapter 13: Evolving  
  
  
  
It was early in the next morning. Mystique stood at the balcony of her new apartment, in the form of an attractive, red-haired woman with brown eyes; she particularly liked to take this form because she believed it was what she'd look like if not for her blue skin and yellow eyes.  
  
As for being in an apartment, she had to stay someplace since her original hideout was destroyed. The apartment was a bit over her budget, but she always did have a taste for the finer things, her former room at the Brotherhood house was a testament of that. She also hadn't seen Wanda in days and was glad; the girl simply got on her nerves to no end! Still, she had left her alleged partner in the collapsing house a few days ago and felt a slight pang of guilt because of it.  
  
Then Raven began to remember how Rogue had reacted to her visit last night. It would seem that her daughter hated her, and past encounters with her other child, Kurt, would reflect her son felt the same.  
  
Suddenly, Raven couldn't move. She was unable to lift any part of her body as if some sort of power was holding her in place.  
  
"Good morning, Mystique," Wanda said as she came out onto the balcony from inside the apartment. "Would you mind explaining to me why you left me for dead when the house caved in? And give me one good reason to not throw you off this balcony right now!"  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Pietro strode into Julia's room with a bowl of cereal in-hand. Cereal was about all he and his teammates could afford lately for breakfast since Mystique left and bills were piling up.  
  
He gazed at her as she slept. Her pale body tangled with the sheets, her long blond hair with thin red strains spread across a pillow. She seemed so frail, beautiful.  
  
Then he noticed she was mumbling in her sleep. Her body jerked slightly as she was dreaming, or rather having a nightmare. Pietro couldn't move. He just stared at Oblivion, a girl that appeared to be in terrible pain even as she slept.  
  
Suddenly, her arm flung toward him as if she were fighting an invisible enemy. A stream of blue light burst from her palm and straight to the bowl of cereal causing it to explode without her hand even making physical contact with it. The silver-haired boy began to slowly back away in fear after seeing this. Then every part of the room-the floor, door, walls, windows-began to intensely vibrate. Even Pietro himself was shaking, though not from fear, not by his own will, but by the will of an unseen force, which source was Julia.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"How did you find me?" Mystique queried.  
  
"I wouldn't worry about that now. If I were you I'd be more concerned about staying alive," Wanda advised, still not releasing her powers' grasp on the shape-shifter. "Now, answer my question-why shouldn't I kill you?"  
  
"You need me," Mystique responded. "Without me you'll never be able to defeat your father, especially now that he has his new mutant."  
  
"Really?" Wanda asked cynically.  
  
"Yes. You see, I know a lot about his new mutant Oblivion and her history. There's only one-way to destroy her and stop Magneto and you require my assistance to do it. Without me, even with your powers, you won't triumph over Magneto and Oblivion together, you'll only get yourself killed," Mystique said.  
  
Wanda lifted Mystique over the edge of the balcony in mid-air with her powers.  
  
"Don't do this Wanda, or you WILL regret it!" Mystique warned sharply as she floated over twelve stories off the ground.  
  
All of a sudden Wanda's force released its hold on the blue-skinned woman and she screamed as her body began to rapidly fall.  
  
After rushing downward about four stories she abruptly was halted in the air. Wanda's powers hoisted her back up and onto the balcony again.  
  
"Oh, don't worry Mystique, I'm not going to kill you," Wanda said with a wicked smile of pleasure in that she'd nearly scared Mystique, of all people, to death. "This is just a reminder that I'M the one in charge of this partnership against my father and the next time you try to abandon me in the middle of a fight we'll be doing this again, only next time you fall I won't be 'catching' you before you hit the pavement."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Pietro had to struggle to reach Oblivion's side because it was as if there were forces trying to push him away from her. He sat down beside her and shook her awake, but the house was still trembling.  
  
"Stop it!" Pietro yelled.  
  
She looked at him and then her eyes slammed shut, concentrating as hard as she could. A few moments later the shaking ceased. Pietro exhaled with relief. He was then startled as Julia huddled herself into his arms and was even more surprised to see tears sliding down her cheeks. As he held her, he could feel her body jerking every few moments.  
  
*What's wrong with her? * Pietro wondered. Though he held her a while until she seemed to have stopped shaking. She wriggled out of his arms and sat up.  
  
"What just happened?" he questioned.  
  
She sighed, "When I was in a military base called Embros my abilities were forced to be repressed by an aquatic chamber that was created for the purpose of containing and weakening my powers. If I stay too long out of the camber my powers begin to regain strength and start to evolve again."  
  
"Evolve?" he repeated. "How?"  
  
"I'm not sure about the scientific specifics, but my mutation keeps evolving and doesn't slow down or stop on the occasions it does. Every time my powers evolve a bit more I have terrible pains and even sometimes the shaking happens like it did a little while ago," she explained. "When my powers evolve it hurts so bad that sometimes I wish it would just kill me so it wouldn't feel pain anymore."  
  
Pietro stared at her with deep sympathy.  
  
She cuddled onto his chest again. "Please, if the pain starts again, I don't want to be alone," she whispered, her voice breaking slightly.  
  
He nodded to show he understood and cradled her; it wasn't long before they both fell asleep on the bed.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The other Brotherhood members came in late that afternoon when the sun was about to go down.  
  
"What the hell happed while we were at the mall, yo?" Todd asked as he hopped in their house first.  
  
"Yeah, the whole living room looks like an earthquake just happened," said Lance, "and correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm the only ground-shaker around here."  
  
"Um, could you guys tell me why Sabertooth is here?" Fred asked as he stared out the window. The huge catlike mutant was getting off his cycle and walking toward the door of the Brotherhood house.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The reddish blond woman placed her hand against the code bar beside a steel door; it scanned her hand.  
  
"Access allowed," said the artificial feminine voice of Embros 's security system that controlled all entrances and exits of the base.  
  
The door slid upward to permit the person on the other side to enter. Flare strode inside and headed to the large record computer as the door fell down again, resealing the room's opening.  
  
Her fingers quickly typed a code into the computer and suddenly several files of electronic surveillance appeared. She opened the file that had the taping of when Oblivion had been first kidnapped.  
  
The screen first showed a blue woman and a young girl with a scarlet coat attacking Embros guards. Flare watched as the girl stayed behind fighting any guards that came her way and the blue-skinned woman searching for a certain room. After a few moments, the screen showed a man freeing Oblivion from her aquatic camber using metal claws that sprung from his knuckles.  
  
She felt a slight sense of déjà vu sweep over her; she wondered a moment if she'd met the man she was observing on the screen before. Though she quickly disregarded the thought, she had more important matters to think about.  
  
She watched as a group of other mutants entered and fought with the girl in the red coat, while the blue-skinned woman escaped with Oblivion. She immediately paused the tape when she saw the woman fleeing with Oblivion. She made the computer zoom in with the click of a couple buttons and looked closely at the blue woman.  
  
"Mystique," Flare muttered scornfully. She didn't recognize any of the other mutants involved, but she did know the blue shape-shifter from her past.  
  
*Well, I guess Mystique is my lead then. I'll have to start with her to find Oblivion, * Flare thought and left the room.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Students were pouring out of Bayville High School as the X-men made their way over to their cars. Rogue trailed behind her friends, her books securely held in her gloved hands. Then she spotted the last person she'd expect to see at school a few feet away. She then started to stride toward him instead of continuing to follow her friends.  
  
"What are ya doin' here?" Rogue asked.  
  
"I'm here t' pick y' up from school," Remy replied and took a drag of the cigarette he was smoking as he leaned against his Harley.  
  
She narrowed her emerald eyes, "Thanks for the offer, but Ah don't need a ride. Ah got one wit' mah friends an' they're waitin' for me, so Ah should- "  
  
"Oh, come on, chèrie. What, y' afraid y' teammates will be upset if y' don' ride home wit' dem one time? Why don' y' live dangerously for once?" he asked.  
  
"An' Ah suppose you're gonna teach me how, uh?" she asked with sarcasm.  
  
He looked at her and said with a proud grin, "Oui. Everyone deserves a little excitement, no?"  
  
She sighed and left him a moment to tell her awaiting friends to go on without her since she had another way to get home. They did, and she went back over to Remy, who was now sitting on his Harley patiently and taking a last puff of his cigarette. She climbed onto the bike behind him.  
  
"Ya know, this is the first time Ah ever seen ya smokin', hope it's not a constant thing wit' ya," she said.  
  
"Why? It bother y', petite?" he asked.  
  
"Well, yeah. It's bad for ya health," Rogue informed.  
  
He turned his head to a side to look at her from the corner of his eye. Remy smiled, "Aw, chèrie, didn't know dat y' cared so much."  
  
She slapped the back of his head lightly, "Ah don't, Ah was jus' tellin' ya it's-"  
  
"Don' worry, if it bother y' den Remy quit," he said and tossed the burned out cigarette from his hand. "Maybe it be time t' make some changes in my life anyway."  
  
He cranked up his motorcycle and they sped off.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Mystique walked out of the bathroom of her apartment. It was almost nightfall and as she was wrapping a towel around her blue body she knew someone else was there. And it couldn't be Wanda since she had just left. She gaited to her bed and sat down, drying her long red hair with another towel. She put one hand under her pillow and clasped the weapon beneath it in her hand.  
  
In an instant, a woman leapt into Mystique's view and gave her a hard punch to the stomach. Mystique pointed the gun, but before she could fire it was knocked from her grasp. The woman kicked the gun from the shape-shifter's grip into the air and caught it, then positioned the weapon at Mystique's forehead.  
  
"Flare, how nice to see you again, too," Mystique said sarcastically with an artificial smile.  
  
The woman with reddish blond hair smiled equally as fake in return, but still held the gun steadily at the slightly older woman's head. "You should learn to cover your tracks better, you made it very easy for someone like me to find you," she said.  
  
"Of course it was easy for you to find me, considering what you do for a living. Well, now that you've found me, what exactly do you want?" Mystique asked.  
  
Flare gave her a strong glare, "You know damn well why I'm here! I saw you abduct her with some other girl on the surveillance camera tapes at Embros. Where is she?!"  
  
"Whoever do you mean?" Mystique asked innocently.  
  
Flare tightened her grip on the gun's trigger. "Where is she, Raven!" she demanded impatiently.  
  
*Damnit, I'd better tell her something or I'm not going to make it out of here alive. I can't tell her Magneto took Oblivion. I want to have the pleasure of killing Magneto for myself. But who could I send her after-- * Mystique thought and then an idea came to her.  
  
"The X-men paid me to steal Oblivion from Embros," Mystique lied.  
  
"X-men?" Flare repeated.  
  
"They're a group of mutants that are striving for absolute power over humans here in New York. They had me steal her to help them attain their goal for world-domination," Mystique told her. "Needless to say, they work for Magneto."  
  
"Now, you see, that wasn't so difficult. Just tell me where the base of these X-men is and I'll be leaving," Flare said.  
  
"Of course," Mystique said, trying to hide a smile. She wouldn't have to keep the X-men out of the way any longer. Flare could keep the X-men distracted and out of Mystique's plans while she focused on destroying Magneto.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Oh, come on!" Rogue insisted, the steady-beat song softly flowing through the atmosphere, inclining other couples around them to stand up and head toward the center of the place.  
  
She and Remy were inside the restaurant called Rene's, which they had visited before, and where he'd decided to take her after school. Remy was sitting on the edge of their booth and Rogue was tugging his arm, though he wouldn't budge.  
  
"Remy, why are ya actin' like this? Ya're the one that dragged me here an' now ya act like ya're regrettin' ya came," she said angrily. He had been pursuing her for so long and it confused and aggravated her that now that she'd finally wanted to open up to him he seemed to not want her anymore.  
  
*It's not dat I don' want t' dance wit' y', I jus' don' want t' make y' become more den an assignment, * he thought sadly. He was afraid if he spent too much time pretending he liked Rogue then eventually he might not be pretending anymore. He sighed, as he saw the disappointment across her face. Her lips were pouted, her green eyes glaring, and her slender, well- covered arms folded; he grinned at the sight of her even though she was furious with him.  
  
"Y' know, chèrie, y' truly are beautiful when y' angry," he chuckled.  
  
She punched his shoulder lightly. "Well, Ah'm sure Ah look a lot better when Ah'm not, an' if ya would dance wit' me then maybe ya could see me when Ah ain't angry," she said. *Ah don' get it. He's always so confident an' sure o' himself around me an' all o' a sudden he's bein' so weird. He almost seems afraid, it's like he's holdin' back or somethin' now, Ah wonder why. *  
  
Finally, he surrendered. He did actually want to dance with her; curious to know what it would feel like. He stood up and took her gloved hand. He led her without speaking to the middle of the floor and Rogue was so shocked at his sudden change of attitude that she was speechless for a few moments, just standing blankly in front of him as the other couples danced slowly around them.  
  
Remy was patient and allowed her a moment to recover from her slight shock. Then he gingerly pulled her to him, he placed her clothed arms around his neck and enfolded his muscular arms around her waste.  
  
Suddenly, she was the one afraid and felt uneasy being so close to someone. Though his body was relaxed, he wasn't afraid. As if to prove he wasn't, he held her tighter to him as they swayed together, the slow song in perfect harmony with the tempo their bodies moved.  
  
*So, this is what it feels like t' dance wit' her, * he thought, smiling inwardly. It felt much different than either of them had anticipated, it was as if time had ceased and they were drifting, or more so floating over the floor, together contently.  
  
Rogue couldn't understand it, how could normal slow dancing feel like this? Though maybe it wasn't just an average dance. Perhaps being so intimately near Remy was simply surfacing emotions for him she didn't know were being created the more time she spent with him.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"What are you doing here?" Pietro asked.  
  
The Brotherhood boys were all in the living room, standing around one of Magneto's most loyal minions, Sabertooth.  
  
"Your father sent me," Sabertooth replied. "He wants you to visit him today."  
  
"Why?" Pietro wondered suspiciously.  
  
"Don't know and it doesn't matter, when your father calls for you, you should come without question," the catlike mutant said sharply.  
  
"Well if I did that then I'd be a mindless servant-just like you," Pietro said, sneering at Sabertooth.  
  
"Yeah," agreed Todd, "you'd be just like him, except for the ugly, furry face!"  
  
Sabertooth growled and attempted to hit Todd, but was too slow and missed as the boy jumped from his reach.  
  
"Look, if my father wants to talk, fine. Let's go," Pietro said.  
  
"Oh, I'm not going with you. Magneto told me to stay here and said you were to go see him by yourself," Sabertooth informed.  
  
"What!" Fred exclaimed. "I don't think it's a good idea to leave us alone with Sabertooth, Pietro."  
  
"Yeah, just a few minutes ago he tried to hit me, yo!" Todd added.  
  
"I'm gonna have to agree with Fred and Todd. No way I'm staying here with Sabertooth without you here as insurance that he won't harm us since you're his boss's son," Lance said.  
  
"Well, none of you get to have a choice in the matter. I'm staying and Quicksilver is going because those were Magneto's orders," said Sabertooth. "Now, Quicksilver, you'd better get going, you know your father doesn't like to wait."  
  
Pietro nodded and started to leave, but told Lance to walk with him to the jeep. The silver-haired boy got into the driver's side of his friend's vehicle.  
  
"Listen, Lance, do whatever you have to, but keep Sabertooth from going upstairs and finding out we've had Oblivion the whole time. I think my father is suspecting we've got her or he at least thinks I have something to do with where she is so I've got to go talk to him and throw him off our trail, understand?" Pietro queried.  
  
"Yeah," Lance answered. "but one thing is bothering me."  
  
"What?" Pietro asked curiously.  
  
"You've been spending a lot of time upstairs with Oblivion lately, is there something going on? I mean, it's nothing to be ashamed of, man, people can fall for their enemies-look at me and Kitty, we're a perfect example," Lance said. "Not to mention Oblivion's a pretty sweet girl. I mean, at first she had an attitude, but she's starting to grow on all of us now, almost like family if the situation was different.  
  
And I think being around her is changing you, I mean, you're a lot more patient and calm than you used to be, you act less like an asshole, you know?" Lance said the last part with a chuckle.  
  
Pietro sighed, "Yeah, she's only been here a few weeks and to be honest I don't know what's going on between us, but there are some things I'm feeling I've never felt before. I'm not sure if getting involved with her would be a good thing or a bad thing yet though."  
  
There was a pause. Quicksilver cleared his throat; nearly embarrassed at admitting he felt something for anyone at all. "Look, I've got to get going," he said. "Remember, keep Sabertooth downstairs and tell Fred and Todd the same when you go back inside."  
  
Lance nodded and watched his friend quickly drive away.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
It was near nine o'clock at night when they had left Rene's and Remy still hadn't taken Rogue home as he said he was going to earlier at Bayville High School. Now Remy was leading her through the park on the moonlit night. When the two stopped, they were standing beside each other on a large, wooden bridge that stretched over a lake. The park never looked more stunning to Rogue until that night, though she had visited it alone many times before. It was slightly chilly, but neither of them minded, they were just enjoying each other's company.  
  
Remy had his arm around her clothed shoulder as the two stared up at the brilliant sparkling of the stars in the sky. He felt her shiver a little under his arm and courteously took off his trench coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.  
  
"Thanks, sugah," she said. Remy felt as if he was about to blush at 'sugah' leaving her thick Southern lips, but he quickly pushed away the feeling.  
  
Rogue turned to gaze into his red on black eyes. Remy's heart began to pound rapidly. *First, I'm 'bout t' turn red in de cheeks, now my heart's beatin' like I'm 'bout t' pass out! What's wrong wit' me! * he thought, confused by what was happening to him.  
  
"Remy," she said, "Ah want ya t' be completely honest, are ya datin' me because ya care about me or jus' because Ah'm some kinda test for ya from Magneto?"  
  
*Well, she ain't as naïve as Magneto had implied, but I knew dat when I met her. Still, she want me t' be honest. Damn, if I tell her de truth--I can't, * Remy thought. He evaded eye contact with Rogue, but held her as close as he could without their skin touching.  
  
"Rogue, trust me. I'll never hurt y' like dat," he said.  
  
"Ya promise?" she asked.  
  
He smiled charmingly, "Promise, chèrie."  
  
"Thank ya, Remy."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For bein' honest, for really carin' 'bout me," she replied and hugged him tighter, but was careful to not let any of her bare skin contact his.  
  
He swallowed hard in his throat. *But I wasn't honest. I wish I could be truthful without hurtin' y'.* His feelings for Rogue were evolving so much since the first time they'd met when he had just seen her as an assignment. These new forming feelings were frightening to him as well as to her.  
  
"Now, ya better get me home quick. Everyone at the mansion is gonna be all bent outta shape that Ah didn't go straight home from school hours ago," she said with a chuckle.  
  
Remy nodded. The two got on his Harley and headed for Xavier's mansion.  
  
  
  
A/N: Next chap will be loaded soon and how was this chap? PLEASE REVIEW! Cam:. Chao! 


	14. Chapter 14: Betrayals

THANKs for the reviews, but I'm warning y'all up front there's not a lot of Remy/Rogue in this one, but don't worry my next chapter will have more with them than this one does, k?  
  
With that said, here is chap.14!  
  
  
  
Destined Oblivion  
  
  
  
Chapter 14: Betrayals  
  
  
  
  
  
"You wanted to see me, Father?" asked Pietro.  
  
The sliver haired boy entered the metal office and Magneto gestured for his son to sit down on a chair in front of him, which Pietro did.  
  
"How goes the training of the Brotherhood?" Magneto inquired.  
  
"It's difficult, but they're getting better everyday," Pietro replied.  
  
"Good. Maybe once you train them enough they'll be able to defeat Wanda, she's very tiresome to deal with, as you know. Though even if you can't turn that useless excuse for Brotherhood members into an elite team, once I find Oblivion I can use her to obliterate Wanda," Magneto said.  
  
"The Brotherhood boys aren't that bad, you know? They are making progress and they do try," Pietro protested.  
  
The magnetic master gave his son a sideways glare, "Quicksilver, you're not defending those little misfits to me, are you? Because if you are that would lead me to believe you have befriended them when I specifically ordered you not to."  
  
"Of course not, Father," Pietro said, nearly unable to keep his hatred for his father from seeping into his voice. *He's always ordering me around! He treats me like I'm below him or something! * "As you've told me countless times, I should never form a friendship, or anything similar to that with anyone. And just as you've wanted, I haven't."  
  
"Good, my boy, because there's an important lesson I've explained to you before-befriending breeds betrayal," Magneto said. "Use people for what you need and dispose of them before they dispose of you."  
  
"Yes, sir," Pietro said. *Is that what you'll do to me? Use me and get rid of me like all of your other loyal mutants in the past? With Oblivion on my side soon you'll be the one being disposed of, Father, and I'll get to repay you for all the 'lessons' you ever taught me. *  
  
Pietro stood up and was anxious to leave.  
  
"Wait, before you go, I have a question to ask," Magneto said. "You would never betray me, or lie to me now would you? You've seen what I've done to traitors before, have you not?"  
  
"Yes, I have. And no, I wouldn't betray you. After all, you're my father and now I'm going to take care of you, just like you always have taken care of me," Pietro said, choosing his words carefully. He closed the door quietly behind him as he left.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Hey, Toothy, did you get your looks from your mother or your father, or were they both ugly?!" Todd quipped.  
  
Sabertooth attempted to grab Todd for the fifth time since Pietro had left to see his father, but he'd missed because to toad-like mutant was simply much quicker than him.  
  
"Todd, cut it out!" Lance said, sending his teammate a harsh glare.  
  
"Okay, okay, I'll stop, but I was only joking and it's not my fault Toothy has such a temper, yo," Todd said.  
  
"Don't call me 'Toothy,' you freak!" Sabertooth growled.  
  
"Look whose talking!" Todd said with a laugh.  
  
Lance shook his head. *What's taking Pietro so long? If he doesn't hurry up Sabertooth is gonna kill Todd! *  
  
Suddenly, Sabertooth stopped his squabbling with Todd and tilted his head to a side as if listening for a certain sound. *Something was just moving around upstairs, * Sabertooth thought. He stood up off of the couch and began walking toward the stairs.  
  
"Hey, wait, where are you going?" Fred asked, as he noticed where Sabertooth was headed.  
  
"I heard something," Sabertooth replied and began to go up the steps.  
  
Todd leaped in front of his way, "NO! I mean, you can't because, we, um, we- "  
  
"Move, Toad," Sabertooth snarled.  
  
"Moving," Todd said with his voice trembling in fear of the much larger mutant as he hopped away from the stairs.  
  
Sabertooth was nearly halfway up the steps when Lance intervened.  
  
"Don't go up there," Lance warned, but Sabertooth ignored him and continued.  
  
"I said don't go up there!" the dark-haired boy said again and made the floor shake enough so Sabertooth almost fell down the stairs. Although the catlike mutant wasn't the brightest at times, it was obvious there was something important on the second floor that he wasn't supposed to see.  
  
"I go where I want," Sabertooth said and began to fight with the other three mutants.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The Brotherhood boys were all on the floor bruised or unconscious. They had fought as well as they could and were determined, so the battle had been fairly long, but ultimately, Sabertooth won. The catlike mutant was never an easy opponent and was too difficult to defeat for the young mutants.  
  
He made his way upstairs and searched two rooms before he came across the one where Oblivion was staying.  
  
She sat up on her bed to look at him and he realized she fitted the profile of the mutant Magneto had been trying to capture, her oddly streaked blond hair being an easy giveaway as to who she was.  
  
"Who are you?" Julia asked. "Where's Quicksilver?"  
  
*Well, it seems as if Peitro has been keeping a secret. I can't believe he had the guts to betray his father, * Sabertooth thought.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
That night the mutants of Xavier's manor were all getting settled for bed. Storm and Logan were talking in the garage as he worked on his favorite motorcycle.  
  
"Logan, what I came out here to talk to you about was Rogue's behavior and since you and she have a somewhat close bond I thought maybe you would know what's wrong," Storm said.  
  
He half smiled, "Glad I'm not the only one that's worried. I had already talked to Chuck about it yesterday since she didn't come home after school till hours later. He said it's probably just a temporary thing she's going through since she's a teenager and the added stress from her problem with control over her powers. But he still told me to keep an eye on Stripes just in case there's more to it than a simple faze."  
  
"That's a good idea since I have a feeling something a little deeper than just school stress is going on with her," Storm said.  
  
Logan stood up and cleaned the grease off his hands with a rag before he spoke again.  
  
"Ororo," he said. "There's something I want to ask your opinion about before I talk to Chuck about it tomorrow."  
  
She looked at him, "Yes?"  
  
"Lately I've been having this weird feeling. Almost like I know something's going to happen I just don't know what, but I can feel it in my gut and I know it's not good-" he stopped and sniffed the night air. "Stay here." He left Storm and made his way out to the front lawn of the mansion.  
  
*Someone's here, * Logan thought as he stood, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the intruder by scent since it was nearly too dark to see.  
  
Suddenly, he blocked an attempted kick to his jaw by grabbing the intruder's leg. The intruder jumped up and kicked him with her other leg and caused him fall unexpectedly off balance onto the ground.  
  
He saw a figure stand over him with a gun pointed at his forehead; her face hidden by the darkness of the night.  
  
"Are you an X-man?" Flare asked.  
  
"What?" Logan said confused, normally enemies of the X-men that invaded the property didn't waste time asking questions, but were more focused on fighting.  
  
She fired her gun at the ground, as a warning shot, which purposely missed his head by only a few centimeters. "I asked you a question, are you an X- man?"  
  
He didn't answer. Instead, he extracted his metal claws. He easily sliced the barrel of the gun off with one swoop of his metal blades. He jumped to his feet and stood in front of the intruder, prepared to fight.  
  
"Damn right I'm an X-man," Wolverine said. "Now, who are you?"  
  
"Where is Oblivion?" she asked sternly.  
  
Before Logan could tell her he had no idea who Oblivion was she lunged forward and she attempted to punch him several times, but he blocked her and made three, deep claw marks on her shoulder. She kicked him in the stomach and he fell back a little.  
  
"Enough of this!" she yelled, frustrated that her search for the mutant was taking longer than she'd ever anticipated. "Either hand over Oblivion or you'll be found ashes by your comrades!"  
  
"Look, I don't know who this Oblivion is!" Logan protested.  
  
"Liar!" she said.  
  
Flare began to form fireballs in the palms of both her hands. She then started to throw the flaming spheres at him. He quickly evaded each fireball, and soon the yard itself was aflame.  
  
Then Logan made a realization, as he squinted to see her face in the darkness. "Meg?" he muttered, though she didn't hear him. His sudden recognition caused him to be off guard and she threw a fireball at Wolverine. He dodged the large fireball, but it exploded as it made contact with the wall of the mansion a couple inches behind him, its impact thrusting him backward and slamming his body hard on the ground.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Ororo could smell smoke as she stood inside the garage. She raced outside and saw Logan on the ground and then noticed that half of the front lawn was flamed. She quickly flew up to the sky and made rain spring from the clouds, which smothered the fire into nothingness.  
  
As she was floating in the air, she realized there was a figure on the ground advancing on Wolverine, who was just beginning to stand up. She made huge, hurricane winds wisp over the figure.  
  
The gusts were so strong that Flare's body was thrown powerfully into a wall of the mansion, knocking her unconscious.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Remy woke up the next morning. He hadn't slept well at all, the entire night he'd been thinking about Rogue. *What's wrong wit' me! Why can't I stop thinkin' 'bout her! She's jus' an X-man, my enemy, my assignment--but she's so beautiful an' sweet an' strong an' her eyes-somethin' about the she looks at me makes me feel-- *  
  
"Stop it, LeBeau!" he yelled at himself.  
  
Colossus entered his room. "Is there something wrong? I heard you yell," Piotr said.  
  
"Non, Gambit be fine. Jus' thinkin' out loud, sorry if I disturbed y'," Remy apologized.  
  
Piotr stared at the Cajun, "Just some advice, comrade, don't spend too much time with Rogue."  
  
"Why?" Remy asked.  
  
"Because Magneto is starting to get suspicious about what your really after with her," Piotr replied. "I've heard him comment to Pyro to keep an eye on you and Rogue from now on to make sure you're doing your job. And our boss seems like the type of person that gives severe punishment for betrayal."  
  
Remy sighed, "I don' know what t' do. De more I get t' know Rogue an' spend time wit' her de more I-"  
  
"Fall in love with her?" Piotr suggested.  
  
Remy nodded sadly, "I can't betray Magneto, but I don' want t' hurt Rogue. What am I gonna do?"  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Flare awoke the next day and found she was strapped down atop a metal table in a room that was located in the infirmary of the X-men mansion; the claw marks in her shoulder Wolverine had given her the night before were bandaged.  
  
"Sorry to have to restrain you, but because of your attack on Wolverine last night, and the charring of my front yard, we had to take certain precautions," explained Xavier, who was next to the table along with Storm and Hank.  
  
"Why are you here?" Storm asked the woman.  
  
Flare stared at the wind-rider, but didn't answer. Instead, the rusty blond haired mutant began to concentrate on burning through her restraints.  
  
"I have ran her profile through our mutant database several times and it was unable to discover any knowledge on her," Hank told Xavier and Storm, "which does bring us to the questions of who she is and what she wants."  
  
"Well, I can answer your first question." Logan said as he entered. "Her name is Meg Barley, but she's code named Flare."  
  
*He's that man that I saw free Oblivion from her aquatic camber on the surveillance tapes. But how does he know my name? I don't even know what his is, I've never even actually met him before, * Flare thought confused.  
  
"You know her? Is she an enemy of yours?" Storm asked him.  
  
"No, she's sort of a friend of mine, someone I met a while ago," he replied.  
  
Flare ripped both her arms from the now burnt off straps. She stood before them in a fighting position. "Take me to Oblivion!" she demanded.  
  
"Wait, Flare, calm down. Look, whoever you think we have, we don't," Logan assured her. "None of us even know who this Oblivion you keep talking about is."  
  
She glared at him, "But Mystique swore to me that the X-men had-"  
  
"If Mystique swore anything to you it was most likely a lie," Storm said.  
  
Flare paused. *The white-haired woman is right. I never could trust Mystique in the past, why should I trust what she tells me now? There'd be no reason to after all the betraying she's done in the past. * Now, she was angry with herself. *Damnit, I should have expected her to try and veer me off into the wrong direction to find Oblivion. Why don't I ever think before I do things? *  
  
"Perhaps you're right," she said, looking to Storm. She then began to gait toward the door.  
  
"Where are you going?" Storm asked.  
  
"To repay Mystique for lying to me," Flare replied. "I'm sorry for causing you any trouble, I should've known that blue witch would lie."  
  
"Wait, Flare, I'm sure we can be of possible help to you," Xavier said.  
  
She stopped and turned to face Xavier, "I would be grateful for any help right now."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"So you're Oblivion," Sabertooth said as he licked his lips.  
  
"Yeah, and who are you?" Julia asked, standing up from the bed.  
  
She prepared herself to use her powers, just in case the mutant attempted to attack her. She didn't like using her mutation because it was painful and made her weak afterwards, but this mutant was suspicious; everything from the way he spoke to his appearance felt threatening to her.  
  
"Don't worry about who I am, worry about where your going," Sabertooth advised and lunged at her.  
  
She flipped backwards when he tried to grab her and threw a fist at his face, but he caught it. Sabertooth twisted her arm behind her back, but not quite far backward enough to break it, only enough to be painful as if he were teasingly hurting her.  
  
"Please, fight me, it'll only make me enjoy taking you to Magneto more," he said.  
  
To Sabertooth's surprise Julia elbowed his face and slid her arm quickly out of his grasp. She kicked his stomach with as much force as she could and his backside bumped into the window.  
  
*Perfect, * she thought. Oblivion began to use her powers. A lucent, intensely blue light expanded from her body. As the blue wave of her energy swiftly passed through Sabertooth, pain ripped throughout him; he was thrown backward by its extreme force and sent crashing through the window.  
  
  
  
A/N: Okay, there is an actual name (or rather one I made up) for Oblivion's powers and exactly what her abilities are will be explained in next chap as well as more Rogue & Remy than was in this chapter-sorry about that, but I warned y'all-LOL! Anyways, hope this chap was still all right and y'all PLEASE REVIEW!!! Cam:. Chao! 


	15. Chapter 15: Motives Revealed

Alò(hello) everybody, keep the REVIEWs coming please! And here is chap.15!  
  
  
  
Destined Oblivion  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 15: Motives Revealed  
  
  
  
  
  
"You don't remember anything about me?" Logan asked.  
  
Logan was standing in front of Flare as she sat on the bed of her new room. Since she had agreed to team up with the X-men to hunt Oblivion, Xavier welcomed her to stay in the mansion as long as she'd like. But Flare knew she wouldn't be staying long, she was obligated to go back to her military job in Nevada, and she had a deadly deal with the government.  
  
"I told you, I don't," Flare replied, annoyed that he'd been asking her that same question repetitively since she'd decided to stay.  
  
"We met in Canada. You were-" Logan began, but she interrupted.  
  
"Don't," she said. She grimaced. "Look, let's pretend you're right, and not completely delusional, and we've met before. Whatever happened, however I met you-it's past. And if I can't remember, maybe that's a good thing."  
  
Logan nearly winced at the sharpness in her tone. *And people tell me I have a bad attitude. *  
  
The truth was Flare was afraid to have her memory triggered. She knew things in the past had happened to her that she couldn't recall, but she thought her life might be easier if she continued to be ignorant of some of her history.  
  
"Look, Chuck wants you to met with him this afternoon so you can tell him more about Oblivion. I'll be down the hall if you need anything," Logan said quietly and left her room.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Hey, you guys, like, wait up!" Kitty called to her teammates as she shoved her way through the crowd of students. School had just ended for the day and the X-men piled into their cars, ready to head home.  
  
Kitty got into the driver's seat of Scott's red corvette.  
  
"Oh, no! No way I'm letting you drive again after what you did last weekend!" Scott said as he stood at the car door of where she was sitting.  
  
"Oh, come on, Scott! Please," she begged with wide brown eyes. "Last weekend I had a date with Lance, and he, like, wanted to see how well I could drive since I got my permit-that mailbox was, like, a road hazard anyway!"  
  
"Is that why you smashed my car into it?" Scott asked angrily.  
  
Kitty sighed, "All right already, I'll sit on the passenger's side-until next weekend." She got up from the seat and sat in the back with Kurt.  
  
Scott got into the driver's seat as Jean slipped in beside him.  
  
"Hey, vait, vhere's Rogue?" Kurt asked, looking around.  
  
"Probably catching a ride with that cute boy again," Kitty said.  
  
"What cute boy?" Jean inquired. Scott gave the red-haired girl a slightly peeved expression. Jean's cheeks went a little red, "I'm sure he's not THAT cute."  
  
"Oh, yes he IS! He's, like, gorgeous! I can see why Rogue is, like, all head over heels for him!" Kitty said.  
  
"Well, since she's apparently got a ride home, let's go," Scott said, cranked up his car and drove away from Bayville High School.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Rogue stood at the corner of the high school where Remy currently picked her up at on a regular basis and was surprised to find he was a little late. *Weird, he's never late. If Ah have t' walk home next time Ah see that boy he's gonna get a super-strengthened punch in the face! *  
  
Then she heard a familiar Cajun voice near her. She followed the voice to a top covered walkway on the side of the school and peaked her head around the corner. She saw Magneto and Remy talking so she decided to listen to the conversation.  
  
"Have you converted Rogue to our side yet?" Magneto asked, his face almost hidden by a shadow.  
  
"Gambit workin' on it," Remy replied.  
  
"I don't need you to be 'working on it'-I need it done! You've been working on this for a month! Do what you have to-charm her, lie to her, whatever it takes, but make her become our ally!" Magneto commanded.  
  
"It'll get done. Y' know me, charmin' an' lyin' is my specialty," Remy said, but almost regretfully.  
  
"It had better be," Magneto huffed and his cellular phone rang. He pulled out the cell phone from its clip on his belt and put it to his ear. "Hello? Sabertooth, how did visiting the Brotherhood go? They've been WHAT? For how long? My son-betrayed me! Where is she now-damn it-find her while she's weak and bring her to my base, I'll be waiting when you get there."  
  
Magneto put away his phone. "Now, go take Rogue home as you've been doing, so she doesn't get suspicious as to what your true motives are, but I want your assignment done and soon or there will start being consequences because I am a very impatient man."  
  
"Don' worry, Gambit got dis fille right where he want her," Remy said confidently, but kept his nervousness concealed from his boss. Magneto would notice something was wrong if he found the Cajun's normal audacity in his voice was absent.  
  
Magneto left the school grounds and Remy felt relief wash over him. *I can't keep dis up much longer. Magneto is gonna find out an' I'll be one dead Cajun. * He began making his way toward the place where he picked up Rogue. The gothic girl saw this and quickly got to the spot before him.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Hello, chèrie," Remy greeted as he strode over to her.  
  
"Hi, Remy," she nearly chocked out. She was trying desperately to hold back tears. *He doesn't care 'bout me! Everything he's done for me or said t' me has been a lie!*  
  
"Ready t' go?" he asked as he gently took her gloved hand and began walking toward his Harley.  
  
"Actually," she said, sliding her hand out of his, "Ah'd rather walk. Ah think Ah'll jus' walk home, by mahself."  
  
He looked at her confused, "What's wrong? Dis ain't all because I was a little late, is it?"  
  
"No. Ah'm jus'-Ah gotta go," Rogue said and began to quickly stride home.  
  
"Rogue!" he called, but she continued to hurriedly walk away and the tears started to flow as she did.  
  
She gaited faster down the sidewalk, almost at a jogging pace. She didn't want Remy to see her cry. *Ah'm so stupid! Ah should've known that swamp rat couldn't be trusted! Ah knew Ah shouldn't have let him in! Ah can't let anybody in without gettin' hurt, damnit! But he ain't gonna see me cry, Ah won't let him get t' have that pleasure! If Ah ever see him again Ah'm gonna put him in a coma with mah bare hands--literally! *  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Mystique, get in here!"  
  
Wanda was pacing in the living room of Mystique's fancy apartment. The shape-shifter came in from out of her bedroom.  
  
"What?" Mystique asked annoyed. *Why couldn't Wanda stay gone all day! *  
  
"We've been going about these attacks on my father all wrong. I think the best way to catch him off guard is a surprise visit to his latest base and I have a nice little sneak attack plan in mind," Wanda said.  
  
"Yes, but isn't there a problem with your plan? How are we going to assault his base if we don't know where it is?" Mystique asked pointedly.  
  
"Well, don't you think there's someone who would give up the location?" Wanda asked, as if preparing to make a point.  
  
"I've tried that before, remember? I tried to get Pietro, the only person who would know Magneto's location, and he refused to give up the information."  
  
"But I've got more reliable help than you tried to get. That's why, unlike your previous ideas, mine is going to work," Wanda said.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"You wanted to see me?" Flare asked as she entered the office while Xavier was sitting behind his desk.  
  
"Yes, Flare, I did. Have a seat," Xavier said.  
  
She did and he began.  
  
"Now, so far you have told us very little about Oblivion and even less about yourself," he said.  
  
"I'm not permitted to say much, being that most things about Oblivion and myself are classified government information," she said.  
  
"I understand, but you must know that we can't help you if we don't even know exactly who we're helping and why," Xavier reasoned.  
  
"All right," she said quietly. *What's the difference what I tell him about Oblivion and I? He told me he was a telepath, so if I don't tell him something he'll find out anyway. * "What do you want to know?"  
  
"Let's start with who you are," he suggested.  
  
Flare shifted in her chair and sighed. "I don't remember everything. There are parts of my life that are a little blurry, but some things I can remember so well that I wish I could forget," she said and paused. "About ten years ago, my family had disowned me once they'd found out I was a mutant and I moved to another town hoping to start over. At the time, I was virtually letting my temper control my ability to create and control fireballs.  
  
One day I was walking home from this job I had at a diner. While I was walking a man and a couple of his friends decided to start harassing me, they knew what I was, a mutant, and hated me for it. So they kept pushing me around and I warned them, but they didn't care. They kept on making predigest remarks, making me more angry by the second until one of them hit me and then I lost it-the police found them later that afternoon and all three of the men had their bodies nearly burnt to the bone."  
  
Flare took a deep breath. To remember what she had done to those men was enough to make her hate herself for the rest of her life. Even if they were predigests, loud-mouthed jerks they had still been humans and she had still murdered them, so she lived with that terrible guilt on her mind everyday.  
  
"I was taken to court," she continued. "The families of the men I had killed wanted me to have the death sentence and I would have if the government organization Embros hadn't intervened. They gave me a choice: work for them or take the death sentence. Of course, I chose to live and since the day they hired me I haven't gotten one night of sleep with a clear conscience."  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that," Xavier said with sympathy for the firestarter. He paused. "What about Oblivion? You've told me she's a powerful mutant, but what is her mutation exactly?"  
  
"Oblivion has the ability to produce what the scientists at Embros have named a shockwave. It's similar to what's called an aftershock when an atomic bomb detonates. Her shockwaves are generally blue, and she can make them have different effects on her opponents. She can make her waves cause horrible pain as it passes through someone, or even death. The scientists at Embros have this theory that she could also form a shockwave into a shield to protect herself and anyone near her, but it's very underdeveloped and I doubt she'll be able any time soon.  
  
But getting back to the shockwaves, if she's had enough time to build up an intense amount of energy she can create a large wave capable of destroying life for miles around her and she has been trained to have control over her powers, but sometimes doesn't when they occasionally strengthen by evolving, and that's why she's so dangerous," Flare said. "The last time she had escaped from a mutation-repressing prison was five years ago in South America and I barely stopped her without damn near killing her! She was only twelve years old at the time and quite a match for me in battle with her powers and the only way I had beaten her was wearing her down; just using her powers once or twice weakens her.  
  
But now she's older and her powers have started evolving again since she left her aquatic camber. If you don't help me find her I might not be able to bring her back to Embros alive this time, and I'll probably die trying."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Rogue slowly crept into her bed. She had already wiped away all her makeup like she did every night before she went to sleep, which left her able to cry without the worry of having mascara flow onto her cheeks. She sobbed silently, glad that her roommate, Kitty, had gone off to a football game at Bayville High School with the rest of the X-men. The only people remaining in the manor were Xavier, Logan, Storm, Hank and that new mutant that had joined them, Flare, whom were all asleep. As for the other students of the X mansion, they were asleep in their quarters as well, or at the football game. Rogue was the only one awake in the house, which made her feel like she always had before Remy had come into her life, alone.  
  
She didn't want to admit it before, but it was futile to deny how she actually felt about Remy now because she wouldn't be crying if she hadn't cared about him. He had charmed her, gained her trust, and for a while she thought the overconfident Cajun could possibly love her, and she him. But that was an empty hope now, he had lied to her, used her loneness to his advantage. So now she hated him, she wasn't going to trust anyone to get so close again.  
  
Suddenly, there was pattering on glass. She cautiously went to the glass door that seemed to be the source of the sound. She stalked onto the balcony, her senses in attack mode, prepared to fight.  
  
Someone abruptly grabbed her from behind; a gloved hand immediately covering her mouth, while the person's other arm was tightly holding her waste so she couldn't move away. She squirmed wildly, trying to get free, struggling to scream out.  
  
"Easy, ma chèrie. Don' want t' cause de others t' wake up, Remy jus' want t' talk," he said.  
  
As he felt her body relax against his trench coat he let her go, though he didn't really want to.  
  
"Ya right, Gambit, we do need t' talk," Rogue said and delivered a strong kick to his groin. The Cajun's eyes went wide with pain as he fell on the floor, groaning curse words in French.  
  
"Ya bayou bastard! Ya lied t' me! All the things ya told me were utter an' complete lies! Ah should've known ya was not t' be trusted wit' ya smooth talkin' an' sweet smile! Ya was jus' playin' wit' me because Magneto assigned ya t' me! An'-"  
  
He stood up, "Chèrie, please, let me explain-"  
  
"Don't Gambit, jus' don't! Stop callin' me ya dear 'cause Ah ain't, ya ruined that from ever happenin' now! Ya ruined the chance o' me ever lovin' ya an' maybe that's not such a bad thing because ya ain't no good! How could ya! Ya promised me, Remy! Ya promised ya wouldn't lie an' that's exactly what ya did! An' for leadin' me on all this time, Ah hope ya die all alone so ya can feel as unloved an' worthless as ya makin' me feel right now!" Rogue yelled, and slammed the glass door as she went back into her room.  
  
She threw herself onto her bed and the tears came with fury and pain. Getting out her feelings of betrayal made her feel better, but seeing him made her feelings for him resurface. And she felt terrible for reprimanding him the way she did.  
  
Remy stood on the balcony, speechless by her painful rant about him. He knew it would be pointless to beg her to talk to him after what she'd just said, but he tried anyway. He banged on the balcony's glass door, calling out her name for a while and then an hour later he left. She evidently hated him now.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Her heart was beating rapidly, feet tiredly dragging from the endless running in the night. But Oblivion had to keep going, that beastly mutant was right on her tail. He could track her scent so easily, even more so with her body pumping out perspiration from her sprinting.  
  
Her body and her powers were exhausted. Since she had used her powers to throw Sabertooth out of the window at the Brotherhood house and a couple of other times in attempts to stop him, she had been weakened, and running half the night through the forest behind the house wasn't helping her tired state. Soon she would be passing out, but she couldn't stop. She had to keep going, determination was a quality she had gained from her mother. Her mother. She hated her mother for betraying her in the past. Still, how she wished she could just have a normal family life, live in a normal house, instead of that damn aquatic stasis camber used to suppress her powers!  
  
"Keep running, pretty, this might be terrifying for you, but your fear is what I live for," Sabertooth said as he gaited through the maze of trees, following her scent.  
  
Julia leaned against a tree, trying to rest a moment. Her body was covered in cuts and bruises, her shirt and blue jeans were torn; Lance had let her barrow his old clothes since she didn't have any clothes except that thin, white sheet she had from Embros.  
  
She was tired, afraid, and all the while this mutant was enjoying ever minute of her suffering, he thrived off of fear and violence.  
  
She only had one ploy left, she was powerless until her mutation regained strength and now all she could do was attempt freedom by challenging him to a fight. She had a little fight training while she lived in Embros, but not much since they were more fascinated with how to activate her powers. They wanted her powers to become their best weapon, but she still had been taught at least a few points of combat so she had some scattered confidence that she could win this match.  
  
She stood with her back firmly straight. A few moments later Sabertooth was a couple of feet in front of her.  
  
"Well, finally going to give it up, eh? I don't blame you. It's been a long night and I'm tired of playing," Sabertooth said.  
  
She got into a fighting stance, her golden brown eyes narrowing at him. He smiled and leapt at her, but she ducked and his body slammed against the tree behind her. He turned around, and she threw a hard right punch into his nose, causing it to bleed slightly.  
  
"You're right," she said. "No more playing."  
  
A/N: How was this chap? Well REVIEW and let me know!!!! Next chap coming soon. Cam:. Chao! 


	16. Chapter 16: Chains

I was re-reading some of my latest chapters for this story last night and I've kinda realized there has gotten to be a lot, I mean A LOT, more characters, relationships, and things going on than I'd originally intended and hopefully I haven't scared any readers off by unintentionally tying so many characters in, but bear with me y'all!  
  
As you know this IS my first fan fic ever and if I write stuff that is, for example, out of character for Magneto or if some things I put about Wolverine could be considered AU (alternate universe), etc, then please just forgive me in advance, k?  
  
With that said, here is chap.16!  
  
  
  
Chapter 16: Chains  
  
  
  
  
  
"Where is she?" Pietro asked as he was going upstairs, headed for Oblivion's room with Lance not far behind. The silver-haired boy had just gotten back after the long drive from Magneto's base to the Brotherhood house.  
  
"I don't know. Look, the guys and me tried to stop Sabertooth, but he was too strong and Magneto sending him here was no accident either. Your father obviously knew we were hiding something, it was only a matter of time before he found out," Lance said.  
  
The two entered Julia's room. It was a mess as if a hurricane wind had swept through and blew everything in the room into disarray. Out of the corner of Pietro's eye he caught a glimpse of a glass shard. He zipped over to the only window in the room to find it had been smashed to pieces with some of its remains on the floor.  
  
Lance put a hand on the speedy boy's shoulder, "Pietro, Sabertooth is a hard mutant to beat, and I know you hate to hear this, but he's probably gotten to her by now-"  
  
"No!" Pietro said and pulled away from his friend to stare out the broken window and into the dark night. "I'm going to find her, and you can help me or not."  
  
In a flash, Pietro had gone from the room and Lance shook his head sadly. *Pietro really has a thing for Oblivion. Reminds me of how I felt about Kitty when I first met her,* Lance thought and smiled slightly, despite the situation.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Oblivion threw another punch at Sabertooth and then kicked him hard in the chest. The fight had gone on for a while now, but she was becoming desperately tired whereas Sabertooth seemed almost thrilled with her struggling.  
  
She attempted to kick Sabertooth in the face, but he caught her ankle and twisted it sharply to a side. She cried out in pain and he released her ankle only to send a heavy hit to her jaw, by which the impact of his strength sent her body to the ground.  
  
She crawled over the dirt, her ankle wasn't broken because she could move it, but it was sprained, which hurt terribly nonetheless.  
  
"You fight well, but not enough to match me," Sabertooth said proudly.  
  
He gripped her neck and held her up in the air. "I would love to kill you, but unfortunately Magneto has spoiled my fun by ordering you brought to him alive and well, or at least as 'well' as I could manage," he said.  
  
Suddenly a rush of air went passed her and swept behind Sabertooth. The catlike mutant felt a knife penetrate deep into his side. He roared out in pain and fell to the ground, causing Oblivion to be free from his grasp, but to fall as well.  
  
"You all right, Julia?" Pietro asked as he helped her up and threw down a large knife covered with Sabertooth's blood.  
  
"Fine. How do you know my real name?" she wondered.  
  
"That's what took me so long to get back to the house, I was looking up info on you," he replied. "But that's not important now, we've got to get out of here before HE gets up."  
  
She nodded in agreement and just as they were about to run, Pietro felt a chill brush over him. Only one person he knew of had that kind of cold presence. *Father, * Pietro thought bitterly.  
  
Magneto floated into view from the sky.  
  
The silver-haired boy grimaced. "Julia, get back-this is between my father and I," Pietro told her.  
  
"I warned you, I told you countless times, Pietro, and you betrayed me, went against everything I've ever educated you about," Magneto said disappointedly. "Wanda had botched me from the start, but you have surprised me, Pietro. I thought you wouldn't have been a duplication of your sister's failure."  
  
Suddenly chains wrapped tightly around Julia. "As for you, Oblivion, I've been waiting for our encounter quite a long time," Magneto said.  
  
She struggled to get out of the chains, but couldn't, they were too tight and the magnetic master's hold was far too strong. Magneto lifted her into the air beside him by using his control over the metal binds around her.  
  
"Let her go, Father, or this will mean war between us," Pietro warned.  
  
Magneto was taken aback by his son's brave words. "Well, it seems your time spent with Oblivion has made you courageous-that, or very inane," Magneto said with a laugh. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more important matters to tend to."  
  
Pietro felt a huge tree branch hit against the back of his head and knock him into unconsciousness on the ground. "That's for stabbing me," said Sabertooth as he stood over Pietro with the large branch in one hand, while his other hand was pressed against the wound on his side that the silver- haired boy had given him.  
  
"Good, Sabertooth, I didn't want my son trying to interfere," Magneto said and floated away with Oblivion screaming and still trying to get free of the chains.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The next morning, the X-men had just finished training and were walking out of the Danger Room.  
  
"Man, Rogue, you kicked ass today!" Evan remarked as he walked passed her. It was only one of the many compliments she'd received as the rest of the team passed her while she leaned against the wall outside the Danger Room.  
  
"Rogue, are you okay?" Kurt asked; seeming to be the only one to notice something wasn't quite right.  
  
"Ah'm fine," she replied.  
  
"You did good in training today, but you seemed like you vere getting some anger out, or something," he said.  
  
"Ah said Ah'm fine!" she yelled.  
  
Kurt backed down from his questioning, surprised by her sudden hard tone.  
  
"I vas just asking," he said and disappeared, leaving only a fading black cloud of smoke.  
  
Rogue grimaced. *What's wrong wit' me! Why can't Ah jus' forget Remy! Durin' trainin' he was all Ah could think about an' even now that Ah've takin' out all mah anger in the Danger Room Ah still want t' see him--so Ah can punch his face in! *  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
"For the last time Ah'm fine!" Rogue shouted and turned around to realize it was Storm she had yelled at. "Ah'm sorry, Ah didn't mean t' be so-"  
  
"It's all right, Rogue," Storm reassured her. "I just wanted to say Xavier and I were proud to see how focused you were on your training today."  
  
"Thanks," Rogue said with a nervous smile and went up the large staircase, heading for her room.  
  
Rogue had already changed from her X uniform and back into her normal gothic clothing after taking a shower. It was early afternoon and she lay back on her bed, casually flipping through TV channels with her remote. Then she heard a small noise. She got off her bed and stood a moment in silence. She spun around, but a gloved finger was pressed against her lips before she could speak.  
  
"Wait, before ya curse me out again at least give me de chance t' explain," Remy said and slowly moved his finger away from her lips.  
  
"Ya got two seconds t' give me a good explanation," Rogue said, crossing her arms.  
  
Remy sighed, "At first, I will admit y' were nothin' more den an assignment Magneto gave me, but de more I spent time wit' y' an' got t' know y' smile, y' laugh, y' heart-de more I got t' know de real y' I realized dat y' wasn't an assignment t' me no more, y' were becomin' somet'ing so much more t' me."  
  
"Really?" she asked skeptically.  
  
"Oui," he said. "Remy realize he was startin' t' fall in love wit' y', chèrie."  
  
"Oh, that's sweet Remy, Ah bet ya tell that t' all the girls Magneto asks ya t' charm," she said sarcastically.  
  
He sighed, "No, jus'-"  
  
"NO! Ah don' want t' hear another LIE come from ya mouth! Ah don' get why ya still tryin' t' make me believe ya care 'bout me, but ya can drop the act because Ah'm not in love with ya, Remy! Ah.Hate.You!" Rogue yelled with unbelievable clarity in her voice.  
  
The moment of Rogue's admission to hating Remy, his heart shattered. He tried to touch her shoulder, but she turned away. When she spun around to face him again he was gone.  
  
Rogue dropped to her knees on the floor. A single tear trickled down her cheek. "Ah care 'bout ya, too, Remy, but Ah don' want t' hurt ya," she whispered.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
***In a pure white room a woman with reddish blond hair was strapped down to a metal table. They had finally caught her again and were discussing what they should do with she and her child.  
  
"What should we do with the baby?" asked a scientist. "Send it to an orphanage? Kill it?"  
  
"No, you fool!" Trask said. "If Meg and her child's father are both mutants, imagine how powerful her offspring would be! No, keep the baby here in Embros and give it growth hormones to speed up its development, I don't want to have to wait thirteen years for puberty so its mutation can reveal itself."  
  
"Brother, don't do this," Alex Vender begged. "Don't you think Meg has been through enough with no longer being able to have any more contact with the father of the child, or the child for that matter?"  
  
"No, I don't think she's had enough! She's a murderer and a whore, and she knew her life belonged to Embros the day she agreed to work for us," Trask said.  
  
"But SHE agreed to work here, her child is innocent in this. Shouldn't the child be at least allowed to live its life away from Embros with a normal, adopted family?" Alex suggested.  
  
"No. And Meg is lucky we're not punishing her the usual way we do when test subjects try to escape Embros," Trask said coldly. He looked over at the woman strapped down on the metal table. "You will work for us unless you want to go back to the death sentence and don't even think of trying to escape again!"  
  
"If you hurt my child I swear I will burn this entire facility to the ground!" the woman threatened. ***  
  
Flare's eyes shot open. It had been another dream, or rather a flashback. Flare sat up on the couch; she must have fallen asleep while watching TV. She felt tears coming, but held them back even though it stung a little. Her beautiful child; how she missed its laugh and smile. But she couldn't think about that now, she had to focus on finding Oblivion before it was too late.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"That's a nasty cut there, mate," St. John said as he noticed Sabertooth's bleeding side. "You must be getting a little sloppy in combat."  
  
The Acolytes were all waiting in Magneto's lab in the basement as he had instructed them to do.  
  
"Do not ridicule Sabertooth's fighting performance, Pyro, he did what none of you have managed to do," Magneto said as he entered the lab, Julia still chained up and floating in behind him.  
  
"And that would be?" Piotr asked, as he stood with his large arms crossed.  
  
"Sabertooth captured Oblivion, or rather he preoccupied her long enough for me to find her location and bind her," Magneto replied.  
  
"So this is Oblivion, eh? She's cute," John said and received a nudge from Piotr. "What? She is."  
  
"She is also dangerous," Magneto added as he glanced at her. "Colossus, Pyro, take her to the Governor, it must first have the DNA code of the person it's going to control for it to work."  
  
Magneto willed the chains to drop off her body, which they did. Piotr and John, forced Oblivion, who was weakened and limping due to her ankle sprain, over to a machine Magneto had named the Governor. The Governor was nearly as tall as the ceiling, a giant metal square-shaped device with a fairly large glass rectangle in the center of it, a computer screen sitting high above the rectangle on the machine.  
  
"Let me go, you bustards!" she yelled and punched John in the face, trying to get away, but Piotr caught her waste and with John's help, continued dragging her to the Governor.  
  
Piotr forced one hand on the glass rectangle of the Governor while John did the same to her other hand. She felt a strange tingling and then a shock as a wave of electricity beneath the glass scanned her hands. Then a pair of metal shackles enfolded around her wrists after rising from beneath the glass. The two mutants released her as did the machine, but the pair of metal shackles were still on her wrists.  
  
She stared at them curiously and tried to take the shackles off, but a huge electrical shock surged through her body causing her to fall to her knees from the pain. It stopped after a moment, but she was left panting from the shock.  
  
"The shackles on your wrists are directly linked to the machine you have just bonded yourself to," Magneto told her. "The Governor is activated by metal and since I have advanced control over magnetic fields I can make it do my biding and the same is true with the shackles that you now have on.  
  
The Governor also gives me a psychic link to your mind waves since you're bonded to it and that is how I will be able to control you. As for the shackles, they only electrocute you if you attempt to take them off or disobey any order I send to you so do not try to remove them again, understand?"  
  
She just stared up at him, her golden brown eyes burning with anger.  
  
"Good," Magneto said, assuming she did. He looked to his Acolytes. "Now, Sabertooth go clean that stab wound of yours up. Pyro and Colossus, take our guest Oblivion to her new room upstairs." Magneto paused and looked around. "Where is Gambit?"  
  
"We don't know, Sir," replied Piotr.  
  
"Yeah, we haven't seen him all day," added John.  
  
Magneto paused. The magnetic master spoke, "When he returns tell him he is to go to my office tomorrow morning."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
That evening Remy entered the Acolytes stratum and went straight to his room. He knocked everything off his dresser. Playing cards, an expensive bottle of cologne, money-all of which he'd stolen-went crashing to the floor from the dresser. His fist slammed against the dresser and he leaned his back against the wall and slid down to the floor.  
  
He pulled a card out from his trench coat, and it was a Queen of Hearts. He made the card glow orange a moment. He stared at it and it only reminded him of Rogue. *She hates me! She hates me an' I can't think about bein' without her! What I feel for Rogue is somethin' so much deeper than I ever felt in my life! I finally told her how I felt, which was hard enough t' do, an' she tells me she hates me! *  
  
He reached into his pocked and pulled out a cigarette. *I had stopped smokin' because o' her- * He put the cigarette in his mouth. Then he remembered her emerald eyes, the way she would gaze at him when they went out to dinner. He crumpled up the cigarette and threw it across the room. *Damnit, I can't even smoke without seein' her face. *  
  
Suddenly his door opened. Piotr peeked in, "Magneto wants to see you in his office tomorrow morning. Are you okay, Cajun?"  
  
"Oui," Remy said to his comrade and stood up. *Jus' gotta figure out what I'm gonna do now dat I know Rogue hates me. I gotta make her understand dat she's all I care about, but how? *  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Well, I have to say Wanda, you're plan isn't as ridiculous as I had anticipated," Mystique said as she sat on the apartment couch and the Scarlet Witch stood in front of her.  
  
"Thought you'd like it. Now, we'll begin my plan tomorrow night. My father is going to be in for quite a surprise to find I not only have his location, but a blueprint of his entire base," Wanda said.  
  
"I'm sure he will be, but one thing still bothers me," Mystique said.  
  
"What?" Wanda wondered.  
  
"An old enemy of mine called Flare, she tried to interrogate me for information on Oblivion's whereabouts a few weeks ago, but I lied and steered her into the direction of the X-men. Unfortunately, she'll probably figure out soon that I'd lied to her and come looking for some revenge," Mystique said.  
  
"Don't worry, after we attack Magneto we'll be moving again and I'll make sure our trail is very difficult to follow," Wanda said.  
  
"You don't understand, Flare tracks people for a living, if she had wanted payback she would've found me days ago. But that's not what I'm worried about now. If she's teamed up with the X-men after finding out I lied to her-she could cause us problems," the blue woman said worried.  
  
"Well, if she does interfere with my attacking Magneto than I'LL stop her. I don't fear anyone, not you, not my father and especially not some mutant that calls herself Flare," Wanda said firmly. "No one is going to get in the way of me getting revenge on my father!"  
  
  
  
A/N: Next chap coming soon. PLEASE REVIEW!!! Cam:. Chao! 


	17. Chapter 17: Truths to Be Told

First of all, THANKS for the reviews (Rogue31, it was sweet of ya to review each chap one by one as you caught up with the story-it is appreciated)! Second, I didn't mean to imply that I was offended by your review, Bunny Angel. I only wanted to give readers(and reviewers) of my story a fair warning because my story can get either better or worse between now and its ending(LOL-I hope it gets better!).  
  
So, everyone, please feel free to send friendly or flaming reviews, and y'all don't even have to send a 'real' review, you could just send me something that simply says 'update soon' and that would be great! All I care about is that somebody's actually reading my writing!  
  
Now here's chap.17!  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 17: Truths to Be Told  
  
  
  
  
  
"Come in, Gambit."  
  
It was early the next morning and Magneto sat behind his metal desk as the Cajun entered his office. Remy sat down in front of the older man.  
  
"Before I ask why you weren't here all day yesterday, I'd like to inform you that we have finally contained Oblivion. The shackles I made to control her work quite well, although they do stunt the continuous evolving of her powers, though fortunately they also keep her from weakening so easily after using her mutation. In a short while I will be ready to test out her abilities on the X-men," Magneto said. "Speaking of X-men, was Rogue the reason you weren't here yesterday?"  
  
"Oui, charmin' de fille is hard work," Remy said.  
  
"Gambit, in the last few weeks I've noticed a change in your behavior," Magneto said. He paused. "I'm not sure if your conning Rogue, or if now she's conning you, but what alarms me is I'm beginning to think your loyalties are questionable and questionability is not a quality I like in my recruits."  
  
"Know dis, Remy does," the Cajun reassured his boss. "An' I know y' well enough t' know dat y' one o' de people I would never betray."  
  
Magneto scoffed, "Yes, well, my son told me the same for years and last night I found he'd been secretly withholding Oblivion all this time-make your decisions carefully, Gambit, to every choice there is a consequence and if you choose to see Rogue again then the consequence will be fatal."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Good morning," Storm said as she walked out to the X mansion's patio.  
  
Flare quietly greeted Storm the same. She was on the patio as well, drinking a hot cup of coffee, standing a few feet away from the white- haired woman. Storm gaited slowly over to the side of the reddish blond woman.  
  
"Drinking coffee?" Storm asked, making conversation.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"With sugar, or cream?"  
  
"No," Flare replied. "I drink my coffee black, it helps wake me up in the morning since sometimes I don't sleep well at night."  
  
Storm chuckled. "You sound like Logan!" she recalled. "He's told me he likes to drink strong coffee for the same reason as you, he has some of the most terrible nightmares, you know? I've known him a long time, he's like family, but none of the X-men nor the professor could ever help him with his nightmares."  
  
Suddenly, Flare had a flashback.  
  
***A woman was sitting on soft blades of grass, watching a sunset. A man, who seemed a bit older than her, was stroking her hair as she lay contentedly on his chest while his back was leaning against a tree.  
  
"You know this can't last," Flare saw the younger version of herself say, who was lying on the man's chest.  
  
"What's wrong with living in the moment, then?" the man asked, his voice was gruff, but unintentionally so. He may not have appeared much older than her, but his voice made him sound decades older.  
  
"They'll find me, they always find me," the younger Flare said sadly.  
  
"Let 'em, they'll have to come through me to get to you. As long as I'm around they won't hurt you again," promised the man. He squeezed his large arms around her and nibbled softly at her neck. "I love you."  
  
Flare tried to see whom the man was. She could almost see his face, almost-- ***  
  
Flare felt lightheaded as she came out of her memory and nearly fell, but Storm caught her. Flare's cup crashed to the ground and glass along with splattered chestnut colored liquid were spread over the floor.  
  
"Are you all right?" Storm asked concerned.  
  
Flare jerked away, "I'm fine. Dammit, look at this mess!" She bent over to pick up the glass.  
  
"Don't worry about it," Storm said. "I'll clean it up. You go inside and rest."  
  
"No, I can't rest. I-I'm sorry about the mess, but I have something to do. I'll see you later, Ororo," and with that Flare rushed away.  
  
Xavier went onto the patio as soon as Flare had left. He went over to Storm, who had a confused expression.  
  
"I've never seen her seem so upset before," Storm said. "That was odd, don't you think?"  
  
"I'm afraid it was more than odd, Ororo, something is wrong with Flare. I can sense it. She's hiding something, I don't want to have to invade her privacy, but if her secrets threaten us then I will have to search her mind for the truth," Xavier said.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Later on that day, after school had just ended, the X-men went home. Rogue went directly to her room. She flung her book bag carelessly off her shoulder and it made a dent as it made contact with the wall. She silently cursed herself for not remembering to be careful since her extra-strength made every throw or punch or fling fifty, if not more, times as strong as a normal girl her age and she was unfortunately going to have to explain the new indentation in the wall to the professor.  
  
She threw her body onto her bed. Her day at school had been bad, which had left her in a horrible mood and she just wanted to forget about it. She closed her eyes.  
  
Suddenly, the back of a gloved hand brushed against her cheek. Her emerald eyes opened and met a set of red and black ones.  
  
She quickly sat up, "Remy, what are ya doin' here! Ah thought Ah told ya-"  
  
"I remember quite well what y' said, chèrie, an' after ridin' around town for a while an' thinkin' I figured out some t'ings," Remy said.  
  
"Oh, really?" she said sarcastically.  
  
He ignored her tone and continued. "Oui. True, I was lyin' t' y' de very first time we met because y' were jus' a job t' me back den, but I t'ink you're de one lyin' now," he stated.  
  
"What?" Rogue yelled. She jumped off the bed and stood in front of him with her eyes narrowing at his accusation.  
  
"I should've figured dis out from de start, but den again y' be a better actor den Gambit, petite. Y' been tellin' me all dis time y' hate me, an' y' wish I would suffer even after I tried t' apologize an' admit I care 'bout y', but now I know why," he said. "Y' afraid t' love anybody! Y' so used t' bein' alone because o' your powers dat when someone finally say dey truly have feelings for y' it scares de hell outta y' an' y' push dem away!"  
  
"What a brilliant theory, Remy!" she said, once again with sarcasm. "When a woman turns ya down, or rejects ya, o' course she has t' have some kinda psychological trust problem!"  
  
Remy held her chin firmly to force her to look into his crimson on black eyes. She tried to turn away, but his hold on her chin was firm.  
  
"No, look at me!" he demanded. "Tell me why, Rogue? I want y' t' admit de truth t' me right now 'cause I can't understand why y' won't even look at me! Why do y' keep tryin' t' drive me away!"  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"Because Magneto could be killing her right now!" Pietro said.  
  
The silver-haired boy was in the living room of the Brotherhood house, debating with his teammates.  
  
"But that's crazy-talk, yo," Todd protested. "Attacking Magneto's base tonight to bust Julia out wouldn't be very smart. I mean, he's probably got an unbeatable security system, not to mention his latest recruits, you know the Acolytes, they're kind of like his bodyguards."  
  
"Todd's right," Lance agreed. "And besides, Magneto wouldn't kill Oblivion, or harm her, she's too important to his plan."  
  
"Yeah, and without her his plan wouldn't work and if she were with us like I had intended before, we could've finally destroyed him," Pietro said.  
  
Todd stared at Pietro. "I don't think you just want her so you can launch your plan against Magneto," Todd said.  
  
"Yeah, he wants to use her to kill his father too!" said Fred.  
  
Todd rolled his eyes at the massive boy, "What I mean is I think he's got feelings for her, yo."  
  
"So what if I do?" Pietro said defensively.  
  
"He has feelings for who?" asked Fred. Todd rolled his eyes again.  
  
"What I think Todd is trying to say is that since you care about her it's making your judgment hazy, you want to just barge into Magneto's base and bring her back, but you know that truthfully it's not that simple," Lance said. "Julia-she brightened up all our lives while she was here, we all miss her just as much as you, Pietro, but if we're going to break into Magneto's base we're going to need to think of how we're going to go about first."  
  
Pietro sighed, "You're right. But I think we're also going to need some help and I know just who'd like to lend a hand in attacking Magneto."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Remy, please," Rogue said, as if begging him not to make her answer his question.  
  
He released her chin. "Y' still don' believe dat I care for you? Fine," he said. He took her hand.  
  
"What are ya doin'!" she yelled.  
  
He slid the glove off of his right hand. He let his exposed hand hover near the side of her face, not quite close enough to touch her cheek.  
  
"Rogue, right now I am risking getting killed by Magneto for y'. He knows I stopped tryin' t' con y' months ago an' now he say if he see me wit' y' again he gon' kill me, but I don' care!" Remy declared. "I would risk dyin' jus' t' touch y' right now, but I don' care if I died an' do y' know why?"  
  
His eyes gazing deeply into hers, "Because realize now dat I love y', chèrie, an' y' can push me away all y' like, but I know dat de truth is y' feel de same."  
  
Before she could blink, Remy's bare hand caressed her face, his palm making gentle, abrupt contact with her smooth skin.  
  
Then he collapsed on the floor.  
  
"Oh mah god! Remy!!!" she screamed.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Logan, I need to talk to you."  
  
Flare was entering the X mansion's gym with a serious expression. Logan was practicing his fighting on a punching bag. His shirt was off. He was sweaty and breathing heavily.  
  
"What's on your mind?" he asked and turned his attention from the bag to her. He beckoned her to sit beside him on a bench next to the wall; he had needed a break anyway.  
  
"Tell me how we met," she stated evenly.  
  
"Well, why the sudden interest? I thought if you didn't remember then maybe that was a good thing," he mocked slightly.  
  
She shot him a cold glare, knowing of his sarcasm, but then her eyes softened. "I've been having these dreams, or rather flashbacks, and maybe it's better if I do know because partial memory is having side effects on me," she told him.  
  
"Side effects?" he repeated.  
  
"Today I was talking with Storm and all of a sudden I had a flashback and I nearly passed out," she explained.  
  
"What happened in the flashback?"  
  
Flare's cheeks went a little red, "It's not important. Now, are you going to tell me or not?"  
  
Logan leaned his back against the cool wall of the gym. "Like I said before, we met in Canada. I was sitting alone in a bar late one afternoon and all of a sudden this woman with long strawberry blond hair and light brown eyes that sparkled like gold came in and sat down beside me on a barstool-"  
  
***The woman sitting beside him in the bar immediately caught Logan's interest.  
  
He watched her curiously as she nervously looked around, her eyes darting to every corner of the bar. He could see a few cuts and bruises on her arms. He figured she was just some woman who had an abusing husband or boyfriend.  
  
Normally Logan wouldn't have interfered and gotten involved in situations not concerning him, but there was a nagging feeling in his gut that he couldn't ignore. He wanted to help her.  
  
Suddenly, a group of men in black uniforms and guns securely gripped in their hands entered the bar. The woman's eyes widened as she saw them and she held her head down trying to hide her face.  
  
She looked over at Logan. "Help me," she whispered.  
  
"We are looking for a woman called Flare. She has reddish blond hair, brown eyes and is extremely dangerous. We need to know if anyone has seen her," one of the black-outfitted soldiers said.  
  
"Please," she pleaded.  
  
Logan didn't answer. He didn't know her. She could be a murderer or some escape convict; if he helped her he could be aiding a criminal.  
  
Seeing that he wasn't going to assist her, the woman began making her way to an exit at the back of the bar.  
  
"There she is!" announced one of the soldiers. He and the other troops began to charge toward the woman.  
  
Logan extracted his claws and battled the soldiers.  
  
"Get down!" a voice yelled and Logan did. A fireball hurdled over him and exploded as it contacted with soldiers in front of him. He turned around to find it was the woman that had thrown the fireball.  
  
As the flames of her fireball spread, people quickly exited the bar along with the soldiers. Logan's claws retracted. The woman grabbed his arm and dragged him outside to a motorcycle she had stolen.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked as the fire continued to overwhelm the bar.  
  
She began to quickly twist together wires inside the bike and then its engine revved. She got on. "I'm who they're looking for-call me Flare," she replied, she was hesitant to tell him her real name.  
  
"Name's Logan, darlin'," he said.  
  
"They'll be looking for you too now since you helped me in there-come on," she said and he climbed on behind her. They sped off. ***  
  
"That was eight years ago," Logan said. "I thought I'd never see ya again after they finally caught you and took you back to Embros."  
  
Flare was silent, trying to take in what he'd just told her. "Were you and I-did we become close?" she asked.  
  
"That we did."  
  
"And?"  
  
"Meg," he said, not wanting her to pry the issue.  
  
She grimace, "I need to know the truth, Logan."  
  
"Yes, we were close until the people from Embros found you and took you away," he said. "I had hated myself a long time for not being able to stop them. I had promised you once that they'd never hurt you again and I'd failed to protect you."  
  
Flare remembered when she had been talking to Storm before and the man in her flashback had promised her the same. She remembered how she couldn't see his face, but his voice-his rough voice matched Logan's indisputably. She knew the things he was telling her were true.  
  
Logan looked at her, "I've missed you."  
  
He kissed her, but she pushed him away. She rushed out of the gym.  
  
  
  
A/N: Next chap loaded soon. PLEASE REVIEW!!! Cam:. Chao! 


	18. Chapter 18: Lights Out

THANKS for the reviews, y'all! Just a fair warning, this chap implies an attempted rape, but I doubt if it'll send chills up anyone's spine, believe me-it's not graphic or anything. Also, other chaps may include sexual insinuation, but trust me it won't be anything too explicit (not in this story anyway, but maybe in future ones-LOL!).  
Now, since that's outta the way here is chap.18!  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 18: Lights Out  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"REMY!" Rogue screamed as she was kneeling beside him and praying for his eyes to open. She shook him over and over, but his body was immobile.  
  
Suddenly, in the mists of her panicking, she felt Remy's thoughts, which were only from when he'd touched her. She had absorbed just his most recent thoughts because the skin on skin contact had been so abrupt.  
  
She paused, allowing herself to see the thoughts she'd taken. She saw random images of herself, which were from the dates they'd been on and showed her shy smile beaming at him, and their blissful slow dances together.  
  
Then came the last thought she had absorbed at the moment his hand fell away from her face and he tumbled to the floor. She saw hers and Remy's lips entangled in a kiss and she could feel everything he felt for her. She felt his hopefulness to one day have the last image of the kiss come to pass, she felt the pain that he felt when she would turn him away, and one other thing. She couldn't define what the other feeling was at first, it was sort of a mixture of both hope and pain. Though this last emotion was stronger than the pain or hopefulness he felt that she'd absorbed, much stronger.  
  
She sighed in realization. The final emotion that she managed to sense from Remy's thoughts was...love. The strength of the emotion was nearly painful and she almost cried at how wonderful it felt to actually feel loved, but quickly turned her attention back to Remy, who was still unmoving on the floor.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Quicksilver, why exactly have you called me here?"  
  
Mystique stood before all the Brotherhood boys in their living room.  
  
"I would have told you to bring Wanda along too, but since every time she sees me she goes nuts I've decided it would be best to call you here alone," Pietro said. He paused. "Tonight, we've determined, is the time to strike my father. While he's least expecting it-"  
  
"Oh, I see," Mystique interrupted dryly. "You want to attack Magneto before he's given time to use your girlfriend to attack us, right?"  
  
"Yes," Pietro confirmed. "And Oblivion's NOT my girlfriend."  
  
The blue-skinned woman looked at him sideways, "Whatever you say-anyway, the old Mystique would agree with you, the old Mystique would jump at the chance to catch Magneto off guard-"  
  
"Hey, when did you start talking in third-person?" Fred asked the shape- shifter.  
  
She rolled her eyes.  
  
"Your point?" Lance asked her, ignoring Fred.  
  
"I have grown since I quit working for Magneto and one thing I've learned is he's a very prepared man," Mystique said. "I've seen the blueprints for his base's security system, he's got it guarded like a fortress."  
  
"Wait, how did you get blueprints of his base?" Pietro asked.  
  
Mystique made a sly smile, "Let's just say Wanda's found someone in Magneto's base that no longer wants to be apart of his cause, so he's giving us whatever information we need to defeat Magneto." She paused. "Can we get back to the original reason you called me here, boys?"  
  
"For the attack tonight-are we going to join forces, or not?" Pietro asked pointedly.  
  
"What exactly do I get out of it?" she questioned.  
  
"We'll keep the Acolytes busy and you and Wanda can have Magneto to yourselves while he's unguarded," Lance answered.  
  
"You can have my father," Pietro told her. "All we want is Oblivion back."  
  
Mystique paused in thought. She smiled, "You have a deal."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
It was completely dark until a voice calling his name made him want to open his eyes, made him want to see the source of the Southern accented voice filled with worry for him.  
  
Remy's eyes opened and a familiar face came into focus, her green eyes staring at him, gleaming with concern. Had it worked? Had he been able to transfer his feelings and foremost thoughts to Rogue as he'd hoped? He had figured the only way to prove how much he loved her was to risk his life and hopefully have Rogue absorb the way he felt about her, so she knew that he truthfully did care.  
  
"Remy, say somethin'! Please!" Rogue begged as she shook him yet again. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she knelt beside him.  
  
"Don' cry, chèrie, Remy don' want y' t' ruin y' makeup," he quipped. " 'Sides, everyt'ing only been dark jus' a lil while, not'ing t' worry about."  
  
He sat up and felt a hard punch encounter his arm causing him to wince, "Merde (shit), y' mighty strong for such a petite femme (woman)!"  
  
"Ah should knock ya upside ya head, ya fool! Ah could've killed ya jus' now! Ya was lucky ya only touched me a moment, otherwise Ah woulda had all your memories an' ya woulda been in a coma instead o' annoyin' me wit' your presence!" Rogue scolded him as she handed Remy his glove back. Although, as the thoughts she'd stolen from Remy began to fade from her mind, she was glad he had touched her. His thoughts of her had been so beautiful, loving. It was hard to believe Remy could actually feel anything beyond arrogance and overconfidence she was used to seeing him have.  
  
Even after the thoughts she'd seen she had to keep Remy at arm's length. She was still afraid of someone willing to love her and still ashamed she could never give Remy physically affection, like the kiss she'd seen him long for in the thoughts she'd absorbed.  
  
"It been necessary," he said. "Y' didn't believe how much I cared so I had t' show y'. An' people always say actions speak louder than words."  
  
"Yeah? Well, try that 'action' again an' ya probably won't live t' speak another word!" she warned sharply.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Oblivion was in a simply designed room: window, bed, and a dresser. She was seated on the edge of the bed, staring at her new binds, staring at the shackles on her wrists. Two of Magneto's mutants, Colossus and Pyro, had locked her in the room last night.  
  
She felt her ankle gingerly with her hand and found it had already healed; she had always been able to heal faster than normal people.  
  
She turned her attention back to the shackles. The shackles were a reminder of how Julia's life had always been, held back, or locked up. She had wasted most of her life in an aquatic camber, hidden from the world inside a watery prison.  
  
Only a month, or so ago she had been kidnapped by Mystique and Wanda, but even though it wasn't how she'd expected to finally escape Embros, she still had been free for a short while.  
  
Julia had experienced the closest to a real life she'd ever had when she'd stayed with the Brotherhood; she wasn't treated like a prisoner with them, even though she essentially was. She was actually starting to care about Lance, Fred, Todd, and especially Quicksilver. He hadn't told Julia his real name, but he had taken the time to find out hers so that meant something, didn't it? Maybe she wasn't the only one feeling a strong attraction. But she would never know if she didn't get out of Magneto's stratum, so she sat silently, trying to think of a method of escape.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Rogue!" called a voice that was accompanied by footsteps thumping down the hallway.  
  
*Jean! * Rogue realized as Remy stood in front of her. She began pushing him toward the glass door that led to the balcony.  
  
"Ya gotta get outta here! If Jean catches ya in mah room, Ah'm gonna be in a hell o' a lot o' trouble!" Rogue told him.  
  
He nodded, "Remy don' want t' get y' in trouble."  
  
"Yeah, but somehow ya always do, how do ya manage it?" she asked with a touch of sarcasm as they were now standing on the balcony.  
  
"Jus' talent-an' Remy got plenty o' dat," he quipped with the cockiness Rogue hated, but at the same time would never change about him.  
  
He crouched on the railing, preparing to leap down and leave the X mansion's yard before being seen by anyone.  
  
"Rogue," he spoke with seriousness now in his voice. "I want t' keep seein' y', if dat be all right."  
  
*Keep him at arm's length, * she reminded herself. She frowned, "Ah-"  
  
"Rogue!" Jean yelled again and opened the door to the gothic girl's room.  
  
"What?" Rogue asked with her usual annoyance toward the red-haired girl, as she stood in the doorway of the glass entrance to the balcony. *Jean can be such an aggravatin' bitch sometimes. *  
  
"Come on, there's an emergence meeting downstairs," Jean replied.  
  
"Ah'll be there in a sec," Rogue said.  
  
Jean nodded and slowly left the room. Rogue turned around and saw Remy had already gone. She noted the sun was sinking below the balcony rail, as stars were becoming visible in the sky. She sighed, *G'night, Remy. *  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Gambit? That you?" Piotr asked.  
  
Piotr was lying on the living room couch, sketching something on a notepad in the home-appearing part of Magneto's base, which was the first floor and upstairs that contained the bedrooms and bathrooms; the basement of the place, however, was very different and where instruments, such as the Governor machine were kept.  
  
"Oui, mon ami," Remy confirmed to his teammate as he entered the living room. He sat down across from his colossal comrade.  
  
"Where were you?" Piotr asked, but then saw a grin spread across his friend's lips. "Of course, you went to see Rogue again, didn't you? Careful, Cajun, that girl is going to get you killed if you keep trying to sneak around with her behind our boss's back."  
  
"What was dat?" Remy asked, staring out the window nearest to him.  
  
"What? I didn't hear any-" Piotr started to say, but then heard the base's alarm system ringing loudly.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Remember the plan," Pietro said to the Brotherhood boys, Mystique and Wanda. All of them were standing in the entrance of Magneto's base after purposely activating the security alarm.  
  
Wanda eyed her brother intently. "I want you to know, Pietro, I'm not working with you because I enjoy you're nauseating presence. Once I'm done using you to distract the Acolytes and kill our father, you're next on my murder list," Wanda told him.  
  
"Thanks, Sis, I'm glad to see you love me and dad so much," Pietro said sarcastically with a mocking grin.  
  
"Don't start you two, let's just do this," Mystique said, glancing down at a map of the entire base.  
  
Pietro nodded. Mystique and Wanda quickly went down a hallway and the Brotherhood prepared to fight as the Acolytes came rushing toward them.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"So, what's this meeting about, Professor?" Scott asked as he sat down beside his teammates on the living room couch.  
  
Xavier was in front of them, as Storm and Hank stood at his side. Logan was leaning against a wall, not too distantly behind Xavier with his arms crossed and his usual tough expression.  
  
Logan was patiently awaiting Xavier to begin, but his eyes were solely placed on Flare through his dark shades, as he stared at her pensively. What had he done wrong? She wouldn't speak to him since the kiss yesterday. Had that been wrong? Had he scared her, hurt her somehow? It was almost amusing to him-no woman had made him doubt, or question his actions in decades.  
  
Flare was sitting in a chair next to the teenage X-men with her eyes and ears prudently anticipating instructions or information as she had been taught in her training to become an Embros agent. Though she could feel Logan's eyes on her, she refused to meet his gaze. She couldn't look at him, not now. She feared that what she saw when he'd kissed her might happen again if she so much as glanced his way.  
  
"I have called this meeting to inform all of you that I believe I have located Oblivion with the help of Cerebro since she has attempted to use her powers," Xavier said. "Although, I fear something is wrong. I've tried to contact her through telepathy, to talk to her and be sure she's all right, but every time I have attempted to reach her mind it's as if she has some sort of barrier around her mind and this disturbs me nearly as much as her current location."  
  
"Which is?" Rogue prompted.  
  
"Magneto's center of operations," Hank interjected.  
  
"Well, then let's go," Flare said, standing up anxiously.  
  
"No, we can't," said Storm. "It's not that simple."  
  
"It IS that simple, unless you complicate it with fear," Flare protested.  
  
"If you think the reason we're not going after Magneto is because we 'fear' him, then you don't know the X-men very well," Evan stated firmly.  
  
"Really?" the reddish blond woman glared at Evan a moment, and then her golden eyes fell on Xavier. "Enlighten me."  
  
"Perhaps we do things a bit differently from the way you've learned at Embros, Flare, but we don't barge in on our enemies' territory and indiscreetly attack," Xavier said.  
  
"Indeed," Hank agreed. "That technique of assaulting one's foe would prove most perilous."  
  
"Flare, we know it's important for you to find Oblivion, as it is for all of us, so a disaster can be prevented, but we must go about this in a cautious and effective manner," Xavier said to her calmly. He paused and looked to his students, "Although I'm afraid Flare's impatience to find this mutant may be more understandable than any of us know. I have a feeling if we don't find Oblivion soon, she'll find us."  
  
"And let me guess," Kitty said. "That, like, might not be a good thing."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Mystique and Wanda stood at a metal door after going through several corridors.  
  
Mystique spoke, "We can't get in without it scanning our hands or the security codes, but-"  
  
"I think we can," Wanda said and used her powers to rip the metal door off its hinges, then threw it carelessly aside.  
  
"Well, if you would have let me finish I could have told you to type in the security code for this section on the back of the blueprints," Mystique informed as she studied the map of the base clamped in her blue fingers.  
  
Wanda rolled her eyes, "Let's just find my father."  
  
The two of them entered into the metal office, which Wanda had ripped the door from. They saw a figure was standing in the shadows staring out the window of the office across from them.  
  
"Father," Wanda murmured. Her powers pulled the figure over to her and held him up in mid-air.  
  
"Wanda!" Magneto said with disdain.  
  
"Yes, Daddy, your daughter is home," she said and flung him strongly into a wall.  
  
"I'll leave you two to your bonding," Mystique chuckled and turned to leave.  
  
"Wait! Mystique, help me!" Magneto said after Wanda had thrown his body against another wall and blood began to drip from his lips.  
  
"Oh, a friend in need?" Mystique asked mockingly, glaring at her former boss as he struggled to stand. "I'm sorry, I can't. You've used me too much in the past. After all, to quote you: befriending breeds betrayal. And you've betrayed me too many times Magneto, why would I give you the chance to ever do so again?"  
  
The blue-skinned woman stood at the door, "Do me a favor Wanda, and make him suffer before you kill him."  
  
"I was planning to anyway," Wanda said matter-of-factly and threw her father firmly against yet another wall.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
A rain of charged playing cards rushed toward Avalanche and he quickly leapt aside, throwing his body to the floor. The cards exploded as they met the floor not far from where Lance had moved himself.  
  
Gambit walked over to him, a card being charged in the Cajun's hand. "Been waitin' for a rematch," said Gambit as he was about to aim another card at the dark haired boy.  
  
Suddenly, the floor intensely quaked at Lance's command and Gambit fell on his back.  
  
"Pietro, go find her, we'll fend off the Acolytes as long as we can," Lance said to his silver-haired friend as he continued tussling with Gambit, while Todd and Fred were fighting Colossus.  
  
Quicksilver nodded. He punched his opponent, Pyro. The blond boy fell onto his backside and formed horse-shaped fire. Pyro sent the fiery steed after Pietro, but the silver-haired boy easily outran it. Pietro's abnormal speed allowed him to whisk pass Pyro and up a set of stairs in seconds.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"How does it feel, Daddy?" Wanda asked as she slowly strode over to her father, who was becoming dangerously close to unconsciousness.  
  
Magneto was lying on the floor, his eyes barely able to define what was above him as a person. Blood was gushing out of his mouth and he knew his daughter had probably broken a few of his bones.  
  
"How does it feel to have someone push you around for once, to not have control over the situation?" she asked. She sent a hard kick to his stomach. "Answer me, damnit!"  
  
He was silent and the pain his battered body felt was intense.  
  
"That's right, Father, don't answer me-ignore me, like you always have! All these years of hating you and waiting for the day to finally kill you, like you did to my soul when I was just a child!" Wanda said. "And now the day has come and I just have one question to ask-why? Why did you abandon me? Why did you leave me in that mental institution? God, why didn't you love me, Daddy?"  
  
Her voice was fragile and innocent like that of a little girl's. A tear managed to escape Wanda's eye and Magneto tentatively wiped it away with his thumb.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said sincerely, "I never should've sent you away. I was afraid of the powers you withheld, you couldn't control them and I didn't want to risk you hurting me, your brother, or even yourself. I thought I was doing what was best, but I suppose I was wrong."  
  
Wanda dropped to her knees and hugged him. She wanted so badly to forgive him and divest herself of the rage that she'd built after all those years of hatred towards her father.  
  
Suddenly, Magneto willed his metal desk to harshly ram against Wanda's backside as she was hugging him. She fell onto the floor into unconsciousness. He slowly stood up and dusted himself off with not so much as a glint of remorse in his eyes.  
  
"Indeed, I was wrong, what would have been best was not to have sent you away, but to have killed you years ago myself," Magneto said.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Julia!" Pietro called as he explored every room upstairs, which all were empty except one.  
  
He went to the door of the room of which he suspected had to be where Oblivion was kept since the rest had been vacant. He tried to open the door, but a security code bar on the upper right area of the entrance locked it.  
  
He knew he wasn't strong enough to break the door down, that idea would've been better suited for Blob. Then he remembered that Mystique had given each of the Brotherhood a copy of the base's blueprints and the codes for certain sections of the place.  
  
He typed in a cipher on the code bar that was written on the back of the map. He then returned the map to his pocket. The door automatically opened and Pietro saw something that nearly made his heart stop and his mind fill with fury.  
  
Julia was lying on the bed and Sabertooth was crouched over her body, stroking her hair. The catlike mutant's beady dark eyes staring at her body intently, inhaling her sweet scent, while his other hand held her wrists firmly above her head.  
  
"Such a pretty girl," Sabertooth purred.  
  
Her body was trembling beneath him and she wanted to scream, but didn't, simply because even though she was afraid she didn't want to allow the Sabertooth the pleasure of knowing how frightened she truly was. His hand that had been caressing her hair began to trace up her thigh.  
  
*Stop! God please stop! * she wanted to scream.  
  
"Sabertooth!" Pietro yelled. "Don't touch her!"  
  
The catlike mutant turned in surprise to face the boy. "Well, Quicksilver, here to ruin my good time?" Sabertooth asked mockingly. "You were never able to defeat me before, and the odds against you aren't much different now."  
  
Pietro drew out something from beneath his shirt that had been tucked in at the waste of his pants. "Oh, but you're wrong, Sabertooth, the odds are much different now, since I brought this gun," he said, pointing the weapon in the direction of Sabertooth's chest.  
  
Sabertooth growled and leapt forward at the silver-haired boy. Suddenly the lights in the room, as well as the rest of the base, went out and it was pitch black.  
  
BANG!!! BANG!!!  
  
The gun was fired twice as the piercing sound echoed in the air and then there was a scream.  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!! 


	19. Chapter 19: Surprise

THANKS for the reviews! Okay, I'm not sure if Magneto can control what Colossus covers himself with, but if he can't then just pretend for this chap-LOL! Anywayz, here is chap.19.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 19: Surprise  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Julia?" he whispered.  
  
Pietro felt around the room and nearly tripped over a huge, hairy body. *Must be Sabertooth, * he thought and made a small smile of triumph. The gun was safely in his grip, after a short struggle with the catlike mutant. Unfortunately, while he and Sabertooth had been battling in the darkness for the gun it had been fired twice. One bullet had obviously went through Sabertooth since he was on the floor panting, but the other bullet-where had it gone?  
  
Pietro stumbled a couple of times, but had managed to make his way over to the bed in the dark room. His hands felt across the sheets until his fingers touched some sort of sticky, warm liquid. He lifted his hand up to the window to study the substance on it by the light of the moon and realized that it was covered with blood.  
  
Now he was trembling inside. His fingers felt beyond the blood and onto the body it was pouring from. He sat on the bed and pulled the body against him, the soft pale features of her face visible in the moonlight; the bright red strains in her blond hair seeming to glow.  
  
"Quicksilver?" she said, breathing heavily, as her eyes deeply stared into his.  
  
"Pietro."  
  
"What?"  
  
"My real name, it's Pietro," he told her with a forced smile. It was hard to smile as he saw her like this. "And I'm here now, Jules."  
  
"Jules?" she repeated curiously. Then she formed a smile, a natural, beautiful smile that made him want to cry. "So you've got a nickname for me now?"  
  
"Don't speak, you need to save your strength. You're going to be fine," Pietro said, the last part was being told to himself more so than to her.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Flare, can we talk?" Logan asked, as the meeting Xavier had called had ended and everyone headed to bed upstairs.  
  
She was standing at the bottom of the staircase and Logan was only half a foot from her. She ignored him and continued up the steps. He followed her to her room and shut the door behind him. He stood before her and she glared at him, but he met her intimidating glare and spoke.  
  
"I'm not leaving," he declared. "Not till you talk to me."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Dammit, at least give me the courtesy to know what I did wrong!" he exclaimed, harsher than he'd intended.  
  
"If you think I'm mad about the kiss, I'm not," she said flatly, finally speaking.  
  
He felt slight relief and came closer to her. She could feel his breath on her skin; she could sense he wanted to touch her, so she backed away a couple steps.  
  
"Tell me what's wrong!" he said.  
  
"When you kissed me it made my mind start to remember things, it made me feel so many memories all at once-it was too much and it frightened me," she admitted. "That's why I pushed you away, all the memories coming so fast sort of scared me."  
  
"No," he said, staring at her. "I know you, there's something more you're not telling me."  
  
She retreated another few of steps backwards, further away from him, her back almost encountering the wall.  
  
"What did you see when we kissed? What is it you're not telling me?" he asked.  
  
"Logan, please, there's nothing I have to tell you that would be of any help to us now," she said, refusing to tell him what memory she had seen.  
  
"You never know, it could be," he said optimistically and took her hands into his, but she immediately pulled them away.  
  
He let out a frustrated sigh. "Goddamnit, Flare! This is what I always hated about you! You always do that! You always act like everyone's untrustworthy! Even when we first met you were afraid to tell me your real name! When are you going to understand that there are people that care about you without wanting something, or having intentions to hurt you! You don't have to be so damn cruel to protect yourself!" he yelled.  
  
"Get out!" she yelled at him. His words hurt her to her core because they were filled with truth. And the fact those truthful words were coming from his mouth made it hurt even more.  
  
"Meg, I-" his voice trailed off. He now saw the pain in her eyes and it made him hurt to see her that way. He had forgotten how effective his words could be on her.  
  
Logan knew he was right about what he'd said, but he also knew her cold attitude was just something she'd learned while working for Embros. She had been slightly different eight years ago, more willing to trust and care. But he could tell that the years they had spent apart, she had become hardened as a fulltime Embros agent. He wondered if she ever regained all of her memories would she even care about him anymore, would she still feel anything for him the way he still did for her after all those years of separation.  
  
She went behind him and opened the door. "Get out!" she yelled again, yet this time her voice was almost breaking.  
  
Logan didn't speak, he just did what she'd asked and left. She slammed the door behind him. She shut her eyes tightly and tried to convince herself she was doing what was right. *I shouldn't tell him the truth. He would stop me from doing what I might have to do if he knew. *  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
She began, "Pietro..."  
  
"I'm going to get you out of here," he said.  
  
"Pietro, I-"  
  
"No! Julia, I'm not going to let you die on me," he vowed. "I'm getting you out of here."  
  
"Pietro, slow down and listen to me. You don't understand. I'm not going to die," she said and gestured for him to take a second look at her wound.  
  
Before his eyes the bullet wound in her chest was healing. The skin simply sucked together over the hole until it was as smooth and unblemished as the rest of her body.  
  
He touched the now healed area of her chest lightly in awe. "Amazing," he whispered.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
*Hmm, now this is going to be interesting, * Mystique thought as her eyes stared over the array of buttons on the keyboard of Magneto's large computer for control of his security system; the map one of Magneto's Acolytes had given her came a handy when finding this room since the whole base was like a maze.  
  
She had already shut down all the electricity, every light in the base was off and the huge screen of the computer showed the sections that it monitored, which were all now completely black. She thought it'd be entertaining to see how the Brotherhood and Acolytes would fair in battling in the dark, with the lights out.  
  
She began wondering how Wanda was doing with Magneto so she switched the base into infrared display mode and zoomed in on the section that showed Magneto's office. There was only the showing of one person's body heat. She turned the base's lights back on. With the office well lit again, she saw Wanda lying on the floor, unmoving, and Magneto was nowhere to be seen.  
  
*Damn it! Magneto got away! *  
  
Mystique quickly used the computer to scan for Magneto in any other part of the base. Then she saw him with his Acolytes, as they hurriedly were making their getaway through a hidden door in the basement. She grimaced. Wanda was obviously in need of help, but she desperately wanted to go after Magneto.  
  
She sighed. For some reason she decided to head for Magneto's office and come to Wanda's aid.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
There was the sound of movement on the floor of the room Julia and Pietro were in. The two of them stood up at hearing this, and the lights came back on. They looked down in front of them, but their enemy wasn't there.  
  
"Where is he?" Julia asked and as soon as she'd formed those words a claw ripped across her cheek. She jumped back in pain and surprise.  
  
Sabertooth knocked the gun away from Pietro's grip before it could be fired at him and it slid across the floor. The catlike mutant tried to grab Julia, but Pietro sent a strong kick to Sabertooth's stomach, unexpectedly forcing him backward a couple of steps. Oblivion punched Sabertooth twice and then rammed her knee into his ribs.  
  
Sabertooth fell over in pain. The bullet wound he had in his side had left him bleeding and weak, but he was strong and would heal if he rested. Knowing that fighting the two well combat-trained mutants in his current state could get him hurt worse Sabertooth pushed passed his opponents.  
  
"We'll be seeing each other again," Sabertooth promised with a glance back at Oblivion and then leapt through the window.  
  
He fell a couple of stories down the side of the Magneto's base and used his great agility to land on his feet with a loud thump; then quickly ran away.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Rogue woke up the next morning with a yawn. She stood up and stretched her body lazily. She gaited down the corridor from her room passing several other quarters on her way to the bathroom. But a something made her stop when she was passing Flare's room. She peeked in through the slightly cracked open door of the older woman's room.  
  
Flare was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall and her arms draping over her propped up legs. She was staring at her window, but not as though she was watching the sunrays shinning into her room, more so as if she were seeing something beyond that. Memories.  
  
The gothic girl entered the room. Instinctively, Flare jumped up to her feet and held a fireball that had formed in her hand, aiming it at Rogue.  
  
"Whoa! It's jus' me-Rogue, remember?"  
  
"Remembering," Flare muttered. "That's something I've been doing a lot of these days."  
  
Flare made the fireball absorb back into the palm of her hand. "I'm sorry for scaring you just now," she apologized. "I've been really on edge lately."  
  
"Yeah, Ah know. Logan told me yesterday ya won't even speak t' him an' Ah was jus' wonderin' why," Rogue said.  
  
Flare paused and changed the subject. "Who is that boy that's been coming to see you nearly every day?" she asked.  
  
Rogue was so surprised by Flare's comment that she could barely think of a lie. "Wha-what boy?" Rogue tried not to stammer, though failed.  
  
"The boy with the red and black eyes I've been seeing sneak into your room," Flare replied.  
  
"Oh, that boy," Rogue said nonchalantly. "He's jus' a friend."  
  
"Really? He reminds me of a certain picture of this Acolyte boy Xavier showed me when I was being briefed about Magneto and his team," Flare recalled.  
  
Rogue grimaced, knowing there was no reason to lie now. Flare knew about Remy and she was going to be in huge trouble.  
  
"Okay, okay, ya caught me. His name is Remy LeBeau and, yes, he's an Acolyte," Rogue admitted. "Have ya already told the professor?"  
  
"On the contrary, I don't plan to. I've seen the way that boy looks at you, it's obvious to me his intentions are honorable, or at least he does really care about you, and that's a exceptional thing to find," Flare said. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."  
  
"Well, since ya know one o' mah secrets how 'bout sharin' one o' your own?" Rogue asked.  
  
Flare shook her head, "You want me to tell you why I keep pushing Logan away so you can help him, don't you?"  
  
The gothic girl nodded to confirm. "He's been like a father t' me, Flare, an' Ah want him t' be happy. An' Ah know ya make him happy," Rogue said.  
  
"A father," Flare repeated, thinking of the girl's words about Logan, and she smiled inwardly. She paused. "You want to know a secret? From the moment I saw him again after all these years even though I couldn't remember him I still felt pulled to him. I still love him, Rogue, but the sad thing is the other secret would be too much for either of us to handle because of what I have to do, so things must stay the way they are now."  
  
"Even if it's killin' Logan?!" Rogue asked with anger-masked confusion in her voice.  
  
"Yes," Flare confirmed. She looked away. "Even if it's killing both of us."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but she's been put into a coma."  
  
A young doctor stood in front of the woman delivering news to her about Wanda, who was in a hospital bed. The two of them were right outside of Wanda's room and Mystique was in the form of the red-haired, tall, young woman she often liked to take the appearance of.  
  
"For how long?" Mystique questioned.  
  
"Could be a week, a month, a year. You see, it's difficult to tell when it comes to coma patients," the doctor replied uncertain. He paused. "Listen, Ma'am, if you're her mother, or-"  
  
"Please, don't insult me like that," said Mystique with sarcasm.  
  
The doctor looked at her strangely for a moment. He turned around and gathered up some papers off of a nearby desk to hand to her, "Whether you're family or not you still brought her in. Ma'am, I'm going to need you to fill out these forms."  
  
Though when he turned to give her the papers the woman was gone.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"It's a good thing our boss has lots of safe-houses scattered about, or we'd be homeless about now, eh, mates?" John said, looking to his other two teammates for conversation.  
  
Magneto and his Acolytes were inside of a large warehouse, which was fully furnished. Indeed, Magneto was a decently prepared man, if nothing else. The Acolytes were sitting on some dusty, but comfortable chairs. Their boss was on the second floor prying the bullet out of Sabertooth with a dull knife so every few moments there was a roar of pain heard from the catlike mutant.  
  
"Da (Yes)," Piotr agreed. He paused. "But I wonder sometimes if we would be better off with our old lives instead of risking our welfare to help Magneto with his 'cause'."  
  
"Not like we got much o' a choice, mon ami," Remy said. "Don' know 'bout y' two, but Gambit old life in New Awlins (New Orleans) ain't much better den how he livin' now."  
  
A painful roar from Sabertooth was heard from upstairs.  
  
John burst into a cackle that received two confused looks from his teammates as if he were insane. "That cat finally got what he deserved!" John said.  
  
"And so will we when Magneto comes downstairs. He's going to be furious that his son has Oblivion again," Piotr said.  
  
"Dat why Gambit not gonna be here when Magneto come," Remy said, standing up and sliding on his trench coat.  
  
"Gambit! Sit. Down," Magneto ordered.  
  
Magneto flew down from the top of the metal spiral stairs that led up to the second floor and landed in front of his Acolytes. Remy slowly did as he was told and reseated himself in the chair.  
  
Magneto spoke with cold calmness, "Now, even though none of you managed to keep Wanda from attacking me, or stop Quicksilver from stealing Oblivion last night since you were occupied with the Brotherhood, I am not angry."  
  
"Well dat's a surprise," Remy muttered and Piotr stiffly nudged the Cajun.  
  
"You see, because of her shackles and the fact that even though Mystique has destroyed majority of my computer systems last night, the Governor is still fully functional," Magneto said. "Which means all I'd have to do to make Oblivion leave Pietro and do my biding is to merely send her a mental request. And I will, and finally begin the first part of my plan tomorrow night at a special occasion, but first I must extract a traitor amongst us."  
  
"Traitor?" John repeated curiously.  
  
"Yes," Magneto confirmed. "Someone here had to give Wanda and Mystique the location and access codes to several parts of my base and I am disappointed to say for your treachery you must die....Colossus."  
  
Piotr stood up and his body layered itself with his bluish, silvery metal. He threw a punch at Magneto and then attempted a second one, but his arm was halted in mid-air. Colossus' metal-covered arm was inches from the magnetic master's face, but he couldn't move it.  
  
"Fool!" Magneto shouted. "Did you truly believe you could battle ME? Your mutation is of organic metal, but metal nonetheless! And I am the master of magnetism!"  
  
He forced the colossal mutant to be sent crashing straight threw a wall, creating a large hole. Magneto flew over to the mutant and stood above him.  
  
Magneto looked disappointedly at his former recruit. Colossus lay below him in the debris of the damaged wall. Magneto could not understand why Colossus, the one who he'd least expect, betrayed him. *Gambit is lovesick over Rogue and Pyro is quite simply insane, but Colossus appeared to have loyalty traits that I thought were reliable. Though it seems that I was mistaken and now the usual punishment for perfidy must be carried out, * Magneto thought.  
  
Magneto lifted Piotr, who was now slowly reverting into human skin and half conscious, in the air and the metal railing of the spiral stairs was ripped off and floated toward them. Magneto held the razor sharp metal rail steadily in the air and was about to stab Piotr through the chest with it when something caught his eye. An orange glowing card had drifted down beside his foot.  
  
In sudden realization, Magneto jumped away from it, throwing Piotr carelessly aside. The card gave a small explosion that knocked Magneto to his stomach onto the floor.  
  
"Sorry, but can't let y' kill my comrade," Remy said standing over the older man.  
  
"Gambit!" Magneto realizing he was being betrayed once again. "Pyro, attack them!"  
  
Pyro did as he was told. John was too afraid of Magneto's wrath, too scared to return to his only other home with his abusive, predigest father in Australia and perhaps just too outright insane to even see a reason to disobey Magneto's orders.  
  
Pyro aimed his flamethrowers at Gambit and let the fire spew out through the air. Gambit elongated his bo-staff, using it to help him leap swiftly above each stream of flames. He kicked Pyro's face and the blond mutant fell on his back. Gambit charged a card in his hand as he stood over Pyro, but suddenly something caught his attention from the corner of his eye.  
  
He saw Magneto was advancing on Piotr, who was now fully in human form, injured and struggling to stand up.  
  
Noting that Gambit had lost his concentration a moment, Pyro let fire pour from one of his flamethrowers at Remy as he jumped up from the floor. Remy instinctively jumped back, but had been a bit startled so he'd dropped the card he'd been charging. Pyro was about to attack Gambit again, but then a smile came upon the Cajun's lips; Gambit realized where the card had fallen.  
  
Pyro was blown away from his opponent as the orange glowing card beside his foot exploded. Gambit quickly used his bo-staff to push himself up over Pyro, who was now having difficulty standing from the floor, and landed not too far from Piotr. Remy quickly slung his friend's large arm over his shoulder.  
  
"Can y' walk?" Remy asked.  
  
Piotr glanced behind them at Magneto and Pyro advancing, "Cajun, I can run!"  
  
Remy half smiled and the two fled through the huge hole in the wall Piotr had made earlier.  
  
Magneto stopped Pyro before he could follow after them.  
  
"No, let them go," Magneto said. "We can deal with them another time. Right now I have a ball to prepare for."  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!! Cam:. Chao! 


	20. Chapter 20: Joining the Team

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 20: Joining the Team  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"So, where y' goin' t' go now?" Remy asked.  
  
He was standing in front of an airport building, along side Piotr. It was late in the afternoon on the same day the two former Acolytes had fled Magneto's stratum.  
  
"I'm going back home to Russia. Now that I've betrayed Magneto my sister will no longer be under his protection as he and I had agreed before, so I must return home to ensure her safety," Piotr said. He paused. "Thank you, Gambit, for your help and your friendship."  
  
Remy smiled, "Now don' y' go gettin' emotional on Gambit, Piotr."  
  
"Don't worry, I'm not, Cajun," Piotr said and shook the younger man's hand. He paused. "And good luck with Rogue."  
  
"Merci, " Remy thanked with a small smile.  
  
Piotr strode away, heading for the entrance of the airport building. Remy went the in the opposite direction, wondering where he was going to go now that he'd left Magneto's ranks. *Rogue, * he thought.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
DING DONG!!!  
  
Storm looked up from the pages of her novel and sat up on the living room couch. She glanced over at Flare, who was coming down the stairs into the room.  
  
"I'll get it," Storm told her. The wind-rider opened the door and her expression was shocked as if she were seeing a ghost. "Remy LeBeau?!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Oui (Yes)," he confirmed. "Good seein' y' again, too, Stormy."  
  
Flare stared at him over Ororo's shoulder. "When did you start using the front door?" she quipped, recognizing him as the boy that had been sneaking into Rogue's room.  
  
"Let's jus' say today I be here t' do more den see Rogue," he said.  
  
Once Storm had recovered from the shock of seeing her old friend at the X mansion's front door, she and Flare led him to Xavier's office.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"--I see, so you cannot go back to Magneto now that you and Colossus have betrayed him," Xavier said as Remy sat in front of his desk.  
  
"No, Magneto will kill me if I do," Remy said.  
  
"Well, I'm still not quite sure why you are here, Mr. LeBeau," Xavier said.  
  
"Please, Monsuier (Sir), call me Gambit, an' I be here 'cause I got information dat will help y' predict Magneto's next move. An' also, I want t' join de X-men," Remy told him.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"Hey, does anyone know why the professor, like, called this meeting all of a sudden?" Kitty asked. "I DO have tutoring to go to this afternoon-I'm, like, flunking math class!"  
  
Kitty was only one among several complaints spoken in the room from her teenage teammates about the sudden meeting interfering with after school schedules and activities. The living room was noisy with chatter and gripes until Xavier entered and complete silence fell upon them; Flare, Storm and Logan weren't far behind the professor.  
  
"I'm sorry for any inconvenience I've caused by calling this meeting in the middle of the day, but I felt it was necessary with the unexpected change I've made," Xavier said. Then he gestured for someone to come forward from far behind him, who had been slightly hidden by Storm and the cover of a shadow. "This is Gambit, as some of you might already know, and he will be recruited into our team."  
  
"Bonjour (Hello or Good morning)," Remy said and winked at the gothic girl across from him.  
  
Rogue nearly fainted on the couch as she sat beside Kurt.  
  
"Are you all vight?" her fuzzy, blue adopted brother asked, noticing her stunned expression.  
  
"Oh my god, it's that gorgeous boy again!" Kitty realized, only remembering him from the time he'd sent Rogue a rose at the diner. "Isn't this great, Rogue? Now you and your admirer can REALLY get to know each other!"  
  
Rogue gave a small smile after recovering from her shock, "We already do."  
  
"Vhat's that suppose to mean?" Kurt asked, sending his sister a suspicious glare.  
  
"Kurt, don' ya dare try t' be overprotective o' me!" Rogue said.  
  
Scott stared at the two siblings and could sense an argument impending. "Hey, could you guys be quiet for right now, the professor isn't finished," Scott said scowling at them through his ruby quartz shades.  
  
"Thank you, Scott," Xavier said and continued. "Now, Gambit has told me quite a bit about what Magneto has been up to lately and has made clear that Magneto without a doubt had Oblivion in his grasp. That is, until as of last night, which was when the Brotherhood attacked the Acolyte base with Wanda and Mystique to capture Oblivion."  
  
"Where is Oblivion now?" Flare asked anxiously.  
  
"Either with the Brotherhood or Wanda and Mystique. Though Gambit has informed me that it actually does not make a difference where Oblivion is because Magneto has complete control over her with the help of a machine he calls the Governor. Magneto has put a pair of shackles on her as well that are directly linked with the Governor and Magneto himself," Xavier said.  
  
"But how is that possible? How is it he's be able to control her with this machine?" Storm asked.  
  
"Well, I believe it has something to do with his magnetic abilities," Xavier said. He paused. "It would not be impossible. After all, Magneto did help me build Cerebro and I'm sure to build this Governor machine took much time and thought, but was very achievable for him."  
  
There was silence for a few moments, allowing everything to sink in for the young mutants.  
  
"Did our new recruit inform you of what Magneto's next move shall be?" Hank wondered.  
  
"Yes, in a way he did," replied Xavier. "Gambit heard Magneto mention that his first attack using Oblivion will be at a 'special occasion' tomorrow night."  
  
"That's sort of wide-ranging information, isn't it, Professor?" Jean asked meekly.  
  
"Yes, but with a little research on what public events will be occurring tomorrow night I'm sure we will discover where Magneto is headed," Xavier reassured. "Kitty and Jean, since you both do well when working with computers I want you two to investigate on the Internet and find articles about any event Magneto would be tempted to make an appearance.  
  
Rogue, escort Gambit to his new room with us upstairs and the rest of you get plenty of sleep tonight because we're going to have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Rogue was standing in the doorway, watching Remy survey his new room like a child would when he sees snow for the first time, eyes filled with wonderment at what surrounds him. Remy looked as if he'd never stayed in such a plush place before, and though he tried, he couldn't hide that it showed on his face.  
  
"I like dis room," he said grinning, as he fell onto the bed, "but I t'ink I like bein' in yours better, chèrie."  
  
She tried not to smile along with him, but failed and shook her head. "Remy, be honest, why did ya decide t' be an X-man?" she questioned.  
  
"Well, for one t'ing, my old boss Magneto wants me dead now. But de real reason I came is because I was tired o' bein' pushed around by Magneto when I didn't even really believe in his crazy cause t' begin with. 'Sides, t'ink it's time for me t' try bein' good for once," he told her, but with one of his menacing smirks.  
  
"There's no other reason?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Ya didn't do this t' be able t' annoy me on a regular basis?"  
  
"No," he replied. He paused and grinned. "Y' was jus' a bonus when I joined de team."  
  
"Remy!" she yelled, pretending to feel appalled by his comment. She grabbed a pillow from off his bed and hit him in the face.  
  
"Aw. Chèrie. Y'. Know. Remy. Was. Jus'. Jokin'. Wit'. Y'," he said in the moments when she pulled the pillow back only to smack him with it again.  
  
Remy threw his hands in the air. "I give up! Dis not a fair fight wit' y' extra strength!" he declared.  
  
Rogue lifted her pillow for one last blow to Remy's face, but he tackled her and they crashed to the floor.  
  
Rogue found herself being pinned beneath Remy, her back lying against the malleable, beige carpet. She saw their legs were tangled with his and she could barely move. Her eyes then looked straight above and expected to see a cocky grin of victory or a glint of pleasure in his odd eyes at their position; strangely, she observed neither in his expressions.  
  
Instead, he was staring down at her, his eyes saddened with no sign of a smile upon his lips. She saw the thought she'd absorbed from him again, the one in which the two were caught up in a passionate kiss, the one that would never happen. She sighed; she knew why he was sad. Longing. He was wishing to touch her, hold her, kiss her without the worry of going into a coma or even death.  
  
He steadily rose from Rogue's body and stood up. He held his hand out to her and pulled her to her feet. She was standing too close to him, their faces not even inches apart, but he did not back away. He reached to touch her face with his gloved hand, but Rogue took his hand into hers before he could.  
  
"Remy," she said, "We can't...touch-at all. Ah don' want t' hurt ya."  
  
He was about to reply when suddenly the door swung open. He spun around and Rogue stood almost hidden behind him.  
  
Storm entered. "Hello, Remy," she said. "Rogue? Oh, am I interrupting anything?"  
  
Rogue shook her head, "No, Ah was 'bout t' leave anyhow."  
  
Remy took Rogue's wrist gently before she could retreat from his room.  
  
"Wait a second, chèrie," he said with pleading eyes.  
  
She sighed and nodded as he let go of her wrist.  
  
Storm cleared her throat. "Remy, Charles needs to see you so he can add you to the database of our school," she said.  
  
"Right now?" Remy asked hesitantly.  
  
"Well, I suppose he wouldn't have sent me to get you at this particular time if he wanted to see you later," Storm said with a light chuckle. "Is something wrong, Remy?"  
  
The Cajun made a false smile, "No, everyt'ing fine, Stormy."  
  
"Good," Storm said. "And Remy, nothing has changed since last time I saw you as a child-you still may not call me 'Stormy'."  
  
He half smiled and turned to Rogue. "Stay here 'till I get back, we still got t'ings t' talk 'bout," he said.  
  
Rogue nodded and watched as he left the room with Storm.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Found anything?" Kitty asked.  
  
Jean and Kitty were sitting in the computer room of the mansion as the sun was going down. Jean was at a normal computer while a laptop sat above Kitty's knees.  
  
"Nothing yet," Jean replied, as she searched through several articles and reports of tomorrow's happenings. "Most everything is just high school and college football games and stuff, nothing that would be Magneto's style to show up at."  
  
Suddenly, something caught Kitty's interest as she scrolled down the screen to an article.  
  
"Jean, I think I, like, found something!" Kitty announced.  
  
The red-haired girl left her computer and stared at the screen of the brunette's.  
  
Jean read the title of the article aloud, " 'Annual Diplomats' Ball Rescheduled to Tomorrow Night'-this is defiantly Magneto's style. Kitty, I think we've found a winner."  
  
Kitty smiled, "Bingo."  
  
"Yeah, now let's find out the time of this ball and finally go to sleep, I'm tired," Jean said.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
*How could gettin' enrolled at dis school take so long! * Remy thought wearily. He had spent almost all afternoon in Xavier's office, evading any questions relevant to his past.  
  
He looked over at his bed and was shocked a moment. Then realized what he'd said to Rogue before leaving earlier. He had told her to stay in his room until he returned and she had surprisingly, done as he wanted.  
  
Rogue had waited for him and fallen asleep on his bed that night. He sat beside her a moment as she slept. He sighed wishfully. His crimson on black eyes were miserable again, the way they had been when he'd held her to the floor earlier. He gingerly pulled his bedcovers over her.  
  
"Don' worry, Remy can be a gentleman," he whispered in her ear, as if she could hear him. He spread an extra blanket onto the soft carpet floor with a pillow. Before Remy fell into his own slumber he murmured, "Sweet dreams, ma amor (my love)."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Oblivion bolted upward in her bed, sweat flowing down her forehead. It hadn't been real, just a nightmare, but a frightening one nevertheless. She'd dreamt of killing, the murdering and maiming of innocent people at her hand. She shivered a bit at the thought of the terrible dream and rubbed her wrist, though she'd forgotten both of them were still wearing Magneto's shackles; none of the Brotherhood boys could get them off for her, so she was stuck with the metal binds. But it didn't matter to her that she still had to wear the shackles a little longer until they found a way to take them off, she was too happy to just be in her old room at the Brotherhood house, feeling like she was home again.  
  
She got out of bed and decided to go visit Pietro. It would have been a bad idea to wake any of the other Brotherhood boys out of their beloved sleep this late, but she knew Pietro wouldn't mind, or so she hoped.  
  
She entered his room, admiring how peaceful he looked as he slept, adorable. She lifted a silver strain of hair from his eye and shook him softly.  
  
"Pietro. Pietro, wake up," she said.  
  
His pale blue eyes slowly opened and gazed at her. He yawned. "What's wrong, Jules?" he asked.  
  
She grimaced, "If anything happens and somehow we get separated, I-"  
  
"That won't happen," he promised. "I won't let it. Now, go back to sleep."  
  
She wanted to tell him. Wanted to tell him how she felt. Though she knew by his worn expression he was too tired to listen, and so was she, they both needed to just rest.  
  
She sighed, "Goodnight, Pietro." She began to leave his room and return to her own.  
  
"Julia," he started, then shook his head at his own thoughts. "Never mind, goodnight."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"All vight, time to get up, Caju-" Kurt stopped as soon as opened the door of Remy's room and saw who was lying in the new recruit's bed. "Rogue!?"  
  
The gothic girl quickly sat up at the sound of his yell, as did Remy, who sat up on the floor.  
  
"Vhy are you...in his...vhat exactly is going on?!" Kurt questioned with anger and confusion.  
  
"What does it look like, mon ami? Rogue fell asleep in my bed so I slept on de floor," Remy replied simply.  
  
Rogue glared at the boy with red and black eyes. *Honestly, Remy has no shame!, * she thought. She wanted to laugh, but saw her brother's angry face. She decided now would be an inappropriate time to burst into laughter at how shameless and barefaced the Cajun could be.  
  
"What are you all standing around for? Chuck wants everyone downstairs for breakfast right now-Red and Half-pint have found out where Magneto's probably going to be tonight," Logan said, as he now stood at Remy's doorway, not knowing, or caring, what asinine teenage crisis was happing before he'd came.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"We think Magneto's going to be at this, like, important ball thingy at eight o' clock tonight," Kitty said and forced another large piece of pancake on a fork into her mouth.  
  
The X-men were all seated at the large, dinning room table for breakfast. Xavier, of course, was at the head of the table.  
  
Jean frowned at how loosely Kitty had informed everyone. "What Kitty means is there's a Delegates' Ball tonight. It's sort of this get together for representatives of each of the U.S.'s allies to meet and celebrate the unity of the countries. And it seems like the perfect 'special occasion' for Magneto to demonstrate Oblivion's powers. Meaning lots of foreign representatives are in danger, including our own U.S. ones," Jean said.  
  
"So what's our plan?" Evan asked no one in particular.  
  
"Well, I've discussed some ideas with Scott," Jean said. "And he and I think we should wait and keep a close eye out for Magneto to come to the Ball, then evacuate everyone and lock the place down when he shows up."  
  
"No, no, that would be too predictable," Flare disagreed. "Think about it, if a man like Magneto were really going to pull this off he'd cover all his angles, us being one of them."  
  
"You have a better plan?" Scott pointedly asked the reddish blond haired woman.  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"Wait," Rogue said, "why don' a group o' us dress up for the Ball an' pretend we're regular guests, while the rest o' us impersonate the guards that will be there?"  
  
"What?" Scott said, not catching on immediately.  
  
"Don' y' get it? Haven't y' ever heard o' hidin' in plain sight?" Remy said to Scott, yet grinning at Rogue, as if silently applauding her gambit.  
  
"Good thinking, Rogue," Flare approved. "We can do what Magneto least expects. Instead of sneaking around with a chance of Magneto seeing us before we see him, we can pretend to be a normal part of the Ball so we won't be noticeable to him, or any one else."  
  
The X-men and Xavier pondered the gothic girl's suggestion a moment.  
  
"Well, I believe Rogue's plan possibly could work, and it is a bit less expected by Magneto, so it is worth a try," Xavier said.  
  
"Yes!" Kitty said enthusiastically. "We're going undercover to a party!"  
  
"Maybe you an' I could share a dance, no?" Remy asked, staring at Rogue who was sitting next to him.  
  
"Ah-" Rogue began.  
  
"And MAYBE you should stay avay from my sister, no?" Kurt interjected with a German accented impersonation of Remy's Cajun speech.  
  
*Oh, no, between Oblivion, Magneto, an' Kurt tryin' t' keep Remy away from me all the time, this is goin' t' be one long night, * Rogue thought as she ate another bite of her scrambled eggs.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
That same morning, across town at the Brotherhood house, Julia was awoken by a voice calling her. She sat up and looked around.  
  
Oblivion, come!  
  
There it was again. But she realized it wasn't calling her, the voice was ordering her to come. She stood up and went to the window. She stared out at the clear, blue sky and the golden sun warmed her face with its rays. Though even on this lovely day she could feel something was wrong, something was wrong with her.  
  
Come now!  
  
The voice echoed in her head. Then an unseen force made her step onto the window seal. No, no, this wasn't right. She didn't want to stand so close to the edge, yet there she was. She tried to resist, but suddenly was electrocuted by her shackles; the jolts nearly made her fall to her knees, but the force that was controlling her held her upward.  
  
Do not disobey!  
  
Then she realized the voice was familiar. It was Magneto's voice. But before she could attempt to resist, or oppose the commanding again, the controlling force flung her out of the window. She hadn't flown since before she had been contained in the aquatic camber. Julia thought she'd forgotten how. Though she instinctively lifted upward into the air before meeting the ground, her body being forced to fly to a place unknown to her mind.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!! 


	21. Chapter 21: Dawning of Oblivion

THANKs for the reviews!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 21: Dawning of Oblivion  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Remy, you did, like, so great in training today!" Kitty said, walking alongside the Cajun and Rogue as they were exiting the Danger Room; the other X-men not far ahead.  
  
"Merci, petite," he told Kitty. His muscular arms shinning with sweat as the true tiresomeness the workout had caused began to set in. "But t'ink from now on I'll stick wit' my own trainin' methods."  
  
Rogue smiled, "Told ya all that showin' off wit' your martial art moves would wear ya out."  
  
Remy straightened his posture, as the three were headed upstairs. "Dat was not'ing, I've been through worse, chèrie," he said boastfully.  
  
"Oh, Rogue, you and I have got to talk about something," Kitty said suddenly. "Excuse us, Remy."  
  
Kitty began towing a very confused Rogue toward their room and away from the Cajun.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"What is it ya have t' tell me that we can't talk about in front o' Remy?" Rogue demanded, as she stood in front of her friend inside their room.  
  
Kitty opened the door to her closet and explored for a while without a word; throwing various outfits behind her and onto her bed if they were in the way of her searching.  
  
"You see, Rogue, there's, like, this dress that my aunt bought me for Christmas about a year or two ago and I, like, never wore it because it wasn't my size. But I bet its just your size," Kitty said and she continued to raid her closet. A few moments later she turned around with an emerald dress lying in her arms.  
  
Rogue was in awe, "It's beautiful."  
  
"Yeah," Kitty agreed, as she stared down at the dress. "And if you think it's pretty now wait until you wear it tonight! Remy won't be able to stop drooling!"  
  
Rogue grimaced, "Ah can't wear that! Ah mean, it's nice an' all, but-"  
  
"But what? Rogue, it's perfect. I mean I know we're on this mission tonight and everything, but why not have a little fun while we're there! It IS a Ball, you know?" Kitty said.  
  
Rogue sat down on the edge of her bed. "That's not the problem," she said.  
  
"Then what is?" Kitty asked.  
  
"Ah jus' don' want t' hurt him. Every time someone gets close t' me they get hurt, like when Ah put Cody in a coma, remember? 'Sides, Ah could never make him fully happy. Ah can't touch. Ah don't deserve him," Rogue said, holding back tears.  
  
"Why don't you let him decide that," Kitty said with a smile. Every once and a while the carefree mutant code named Shadowcat could give some good advice.  
  
Kitty then turned her attention to two dresses on her bed, which she had thrown out of her closet earlier. "Now that we've gotten your attire figured out, which dress do you think I should wear-the red one, or the pink, or neither?"  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Julia's eyes slowly opened. At first everything was obscure, but then a face came into focus, as did the surroundings. She seemed to be in some sort of brightly lit warehouse and looming over her was the magnetic master himself. He stood over her as she was sitting up on the floor, his remaining loyal minions, Sabertooth and Pyro, beside him.  
  
*How did I get here? * Oblivion thought at first. Then she remembered she had been forced to come to this place, ordered. This was definite confirmation that not only did the shackles work, but that Magneto also was serious about his plans for her.  
  
"Good evening, Oblivion," Magneto said. A kind phrase, yet coming from his lips it sounded as deadly as a threat. "I suppose you now understand the importance you are to me. I've gone through much trouble to find you, capture you, control you. And now it is time to see the results of my labors, and you, my dear, get to be a part of history tonight."  
  
John handed her a white dress, which caused a look of confusion to spread across her face.  
  
"Go into the bathroom and put the dress on," John instructed.  
  
She stood up, but threw the dress down on to the floor and scrubbed it with her foot. She glared at Magneto so strongly that he nearly flinched.  
  
"You must wear the appropriate attire for the occasion, or the guards at Delegates' Ball will be suspicious," Magneto said. "Now, either you put on the dress, or Sabertooth will put it on you himself."  
  
She glanced at Sabertooth and remembered the time he'd almost raped her, had it not been for Pietro intervening. "Where's the bathroom?" she asked.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Do you see her?" Lance asked.  
  
Pietro stood in front of him in Julia's room, after zipping in and out of every room in the house.  
  
"She's not here," Pietro said. "I should've known something was wrong. Last night she woke me up late and she seemed upset about something, I should've-"  
  
"It's not your fault, man. Something must have happened, and I have a feeling something bad," Lance said.  
  
"Yeah, Lance is right," agreed Fred. "She wouldn't just leave us without saying anything-would she?"  
  
"Of course not," Todd said, "I mean, I don't know about the rest of you, but I think this has Magneto's stench all over it, yo," Todd said.  
  
Pietro stared sadly out of the window a moment then turned to look at his teammates, his friends. "We need to go look for her," he said.  
  
"But where do we even start? We don't know where Magneto's hanging out now that he abandoned his last base after we attacked it a few days ago," Todd said.  
  
"Well, let's start looking at his old base, there we might be able to find some kind of clue as to where Magneto has taken her now," Pietro said.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The time of the Delegates' Ball slowly approached; the sky darkening, stars tinkling as they became more discernible the later it became. At the foot of the staircase inside of Xavier's mansion stood Scott, Kurt and Remy, all of who were in suits; Kurt, of course, had on his image inducer.  
  
Logan was not far from them with his back leaning against a wall. Logan wasn't wearing a suit; they always made him feel suffocated. He hated to wear formal ensembles even though he didn't look half bad wearing them. Thus, instead of having to be one of the X-men that had to pretend to be a guest and dress up, he decided to pose as a guard. Xavier apparently had friends in high places, so the standard black uniform for the guards at the Ball didn't take long to get, not to mention acquiring guests' tickets.  
  
Then Kitty, Jean and Rogue descended the staircase. Kitty was wearing a short, sky blue dress with matching high-heals and her dark amber colored hair hung on her shoulders. Jean was in a bright red dress that coordinated with the color of her hair. And last to come down the steps was Rogue. The dress Kitty had given Rogue seemed to have been perfectly made for her along with matching elbow-length gloves. The dress was long, down to her ankles with a slit up the side, and its color emphasized her eyes since it was almost the exact color as them, emerald. The tightness of the dress accentuating her body's curves and, surprisingly enough, there was not an ounce of makeup on her face, except for a touch of lipstick on her lips.  
  
All three boys stood and marveled the three beauties before them until Xavier entered the room. Storm, Spike, and Flare right behind him, already dressed in black, guard uniforms and wearing headsets. Hank was doing research in the lab since he was staying behind this time with the professor.  
  
"Now, you all know what you are to do. Capture Oblivion, but do not hurt her if possible. If she is being controlled as Gambit has said, she will not be harming anyone of her own freewill," Xavier reminded his X-men.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Aren't you all a little young to be going to this ball?" the male guard inquired.  
  
Jean and Scott stood in front of the guard nervously. Rogue and Remy were behind them in line, followed by Kitty and Kurt. Even though Kitty would have preferred to go with Lance to the Delegates' Ball, she didn't have an option, and at least Kurt was a good friend, so it wouldn't be so bad.  
  
"We have written invitations from tonight's host, Mr. Doyle himself," Jean said with upper class smugness that she hoped made her sound more believable to be going to such a fancy ball.  
  
Scott handed the guard their invitations. The guard stared at them curiously, then allowed them to enter the building. Inside the building were colorfully elaborate murals of nature and scenery spread over the walls. The floor was solid, white marble and from the ceiling hung five crystal chandeliers that stretched apart to appear evenly distanced with the enormous length of the room. There were groups of delegates and their wives scattered about-laughing, talking and their glasses never empty of the provided costly wine. The six X-men surveyed all of this as they entered the Ball and for a moment almost forgot why they had come.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention," came a voice from the center stage of the room. A man in his mid forties, wearing a black suit stood at a podium, speaking into the attached microphone. "My name is Allan Doyle and I'm the host of this year's Delegates' Ball. First, I'd like to say I appreciate each representative from the United Nations for attending the celebration of the accordance amongst our countries this evening..."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
As Allan Doyle continued his speech the X-men impersonating guards were moving stealthily around the perimeter of the building. Each of the four, which were Spike, Strom, Flare and Wolverine, had an area to themselves to watch and wait for Magneto's arrival.  
  
Wolverine had to watch over the area that was closest to the building's entrance. He observed the people who waited in line to be permitted into the Ball and noted as a female came up the aisle. Her face felt familiar to him somehow.  
  
She was tall, with pale skin and short black hair. She was wearing a long, white dress that hugged her body's shapeliness. There were slits on either of the dress's sides to show off her legs as well as the white high healed sandals, which had matching colored lace twined around her legs and stopped at her knees. She was an exquisite sight and it made him wonder how beautiful Flare would've looked if she'd been one of the team Xavier had chosen to masquerade as a guest.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
After the evening's host, Mr. Doyle, had finished his speech he had instructed the small orchestra in the room to begin playing and most of the couples at the Ball were dancing. Jean and Scott had been the first to walk out to the middle of the floor. And even Kitty decided it would be fun to dance with Kurt for a little while, just to pass the time and take part in the party.  
  
Rogue, however, was sitting at their table, enjoying the fact that she could taste expensive wine for the first time in her life; even though she wasn't twenty-one yet. She didn't drink much-just a taste-she had heard how drunk a couple glasses of wine could get anyone and she was too young for a hangover.  
  
Remy was standing beside the table, staring at her with persuasive black on crimson eyes. "Want t' dance?" Remy asked with his most charming smile. He saw her look away, but continued his persistence. "Come on, don' y' want t' live a little? Magneto isn't here yet, so I t'ink we should enjoy ourselves till he is."  
  
"Is that what ya think, Cajun?" she asked with slight sarcasm. Then gazed into his eyes and a small smile curved her lips. "All right, Ah'll dance wit' ya, but only one dance."  
  
He took her silk gloved hand and led her onto the floor, "One dance all Remy need, long as he wit y', chèrie."  
  
Remy put his arms around Rogue's waste and her arms encircled his neck. Their bodies swayed together as the soft, ardent sounds of the Ball's orchestra floated through the air.  
  
Remy pulled her closer and at first she was frightened, but after pulling back a little to gaze into his odd colored eyes her fear, her worries, vanished. Her head rested on his shoulder and she lost herself in the blissfulness that she felt every time she danced with him. Being so close to Remy somehow made her forget about not being able to touch, made her desert depressing thoughts of her curse.  
  
She silently wondered if this was what love felt like.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Why did you bring me here?" Julia demanded as she threw off the black haired wig Magneto had made her wear so no one would recognize her odd colored hair and she'd be less conspicuous. She was standing behind the black curtain of the center stage.  
  
"Because as I've told you tonight is going to be history. Tonight you will make a demonstration of your true power and make these pathetic humans, delegates as well as the countries they represent, tremble at my feet. Tonight is the beginning of our reign-the dawning of Oblivion, I suppose," Magneto said in almost amusement to himself.  
  
"Why do you want to do this?" Julia asked confused.  
  
"That is to be revealed when we make our presence known," Magneto said.  
  
"I won't hurt anyone for you," she said sternly.  
  
Magneto gave her a glare that made her shiver, "You do not have a choice."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Remy, there's somethin' Ah need t' tell ya," Rogue began as she pulled away from him a bit, so she could look into his eyes again.  
  
"Yeah, chèrie?" he asked gently.  
  
Just as Rogue was about to reply she noticed that everyone had stopped dancing and talking. They all now had their attention directed at the stage. Then as she and Remy turned around they saw Magneto standing at the podium.  
  
"I am called Magneto. For most of my life I, as well as many others like myself, have been ridiculed, demeaned and even beaten simply because I was different from normal people. I am a mutant..." he said and at that admission some gasps could be heard in the room and the scent of fear arose in the atmosphere.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Logan, something's wrong. I've got a gut feeling Oblivion's here somewhere. I just know it," Flare said, as she stood in front of him, outside of the building.  
  
He stared at Flare a moment, and then spoke into his headset, "Storm, Spike, let's head into the building. There might be trouble."  
  
"Evan and I will meet you inside," Storm said through the microphone in her headset.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"You're probably wondering why I'm here tonight. Well, I have come because the predigest ways of the world against mutants will not change, so I will force it to. Homo sapiens have had their time for dominance and now, it is our turn," Magneto said.  
  
The black curtain fell onto the stage and Oblivion was exposed, positioned in mid-air, her long, white dress and red strained blond hair floating about her. Her eyes became pupil-empty and her once golden brown eyes became pure gold as Magneto began to try to unlock the power buried inside her. With the shackles still on her wrists Magneto was controlling her, willing her every move and even her words.  
  
"The dawning of human suffering, of humanity's oblivion has come," Julia said with an even tone, her voice hollow and emotionless. Though they were not her words, they were under the control of Magneto and she was helpless to stop it. She watched what she didn't want to happen come to pass as she was trapped in her own mind.  
  
Suddenly, the floor began to tremble, as did the ground outside as the rest of the X-men were coming in, and a strange wind swept around the room.  
  
"We have to stop her before she can create a massive shockwave," Flare told the X-men. She knew that the sudden wind and shaking in the floor were warning signs of Oblivion building up power for a shockwave of great size.  
  
Evan shot several spikes at Oblivion, but they were halted in the air when they came within a foot of her. In seconds, the spikes ruptured and their debris flung at the people, causing some of them to get scratched and bruised.  
  
Remy pulled out three cards from inside his suit and charged them heavily with energy before throwing them at Oblivion. The cards stopped in mid-air as Evan's spikes had, except this time she allowed the cards to do what Remy had intended, to explode. People were blown backwards by the explosions of the three playing cards and began scrambling for the exit, which were double doors made of metal; Magneto easily forced the metal doors to stay closed and the delegates and guests were trapped.  
  
"She must have evolved after Wanda and Mystique kidnapped her because she's learned how to form a shockwave into a force field and use it to stop things before they hit her-she couldn't do that before," Flare said. She glanced around the room. "Damnit, with all these people in here I can't fight her without burning the place down. We have to get everyone out of here."  
  
Oblivion's energy was rising in her body. She could feel the intoxicating power rushing through her veins and begging to be freed.  
  
No! her mind screamed at Magneto. I won't hurt anyone!  
  
She struggled to withhold the power inside herself and tried to fight Magneto's control.  
  
Obey me! Magneto ordered and her shackles sent small shocks to her as she battled his mind's power over her.  
  
The floor continued quivering and the chandeliers were shaken loose from their wires in the ceiling. Scott blasted a chandelier away from a delegate and his wife before it fell on them. The rest of the X-men were doing similar acts, trying to save as many people as they could.  
  
"Evan!" Storm screamed.  
  
He was caught beneath a chandelier after pushing a delegate's wife out of the way. Rogue lifted the chandelier easily off her teammate with her superstrength.  
  
Storm gathered up her nephew in her arms. His body was motionless and blood seeped from his mouth.  
  
"Nightcrawler, transport him to the hospital," Cyclops instructed.  
  
Kurt nodded and he and an injured Evan disappeared, leaving behind a fading cloud of smoke.  
  
In pure rage for her nephew's pain, Storm began going toward Oblivion with hurricane winds and white mists in her eyes. She threw bolts of lighting wildly at Oblivion in her rage, but not one of the bolts touched the girl.  
  
In response, Oblivion released a small shockwave from her hand directly at Storm. The weather witch felt agonizing pain like she'd never experienced before as the blue, translucent wave swept through her; it thrust Storm into a wall and she fell lifelessly to the floor.  
  
Flare and Jean rushed over to Storm. Flare bent down to one knee and checked the white haired woman's pulse in her neck.  
  
"She's alive. The shockwave hadn't been strong enough to hurt her too badly," Flare said," but she's unconscious and we have to get her out of here."  
  
Wolverine extracted his claws and charged at Oblivion while she was distracted with sending out another wave towards Flare and Jean, who were occupied with Storm's condition.  
  
Flare spun around, hearing Wolverine's metal claws cutting through the air. "Logan, NO!" she screamed. She threw a fireball at him, but not directly, only near him so that it's exploding impact would push him away from Julia.  
  
The ground began to shake and a mysterious wind began to toss around some debris; the warning signs of her creating a shockwave had returned. Magneto was now forcing Oblivion to do what she prayed he wouldn't. She could no longer resist the pressure of the power within her. A huge shockwave of intense energy released from her body, drowning the room in its azure light.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!! 


	22. Chapter 22: Maternal Instincts

Thanks for the reviews!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 22: Maternal Instincts  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The gold light abruptly receded from Oblivion's eyes as she regained control over her own body. Her eyes had become their normal honey brown again as she looked at her surroundings as if just waking up. What had happened? Where was she? She couldn't remember anything that had occurred, she knew only that she was tired. She felt utterly drained of energy and was becoming lightheaded. She looked over beside her and saw Sabertooth supporting her; her exhausted body was leaning against him. She tried to pull away from him, but he gripped her arm tightly before she could leave his side.  
  
"You shouldn't struggle to escape in the state you're in now," Magneto said. "The last shockwave you exerted took almost all of your strength."  
  
She stared at the magnetic master, her eyesight slowly hazing. *What shockwave? * She glanced around the room again. She couldn't recall anything, what had she been forced to do?  
  
Before she could speak any of her questions aloud her eyes could only see blackness, and she passed out. Sabertooth caught her before she fell.  
  
*She weakens when creating too large of a shockwave and has now lost consciousness to rest. No matter, I won't need to use her much longer for my plans, even if using her powers with the shackles controlling her does eventually prove to be fatal, * Magneto thought. He looked around at the bodies of delegates and X-men scattered on the floor; he assumed they'd died, or at least were seriously injured from Oblivion's shockwave.  
  
"Come, Sabertooth, our next attack will be soon and Oblivion needs her rest if she is to be my weapon," Magneto said.  
  
Sabertooth unquestioningly followed Magneto out of the Delegates' Ball's demolished building, carrying an unconscious Oblivion in his arms.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
An hour after Magneto's departure, Rogue opened her eyes. She stared straight ahead and saw the star-embroidered night sky where the ceiling had been before it was blown apart by Oblivion's shockwave. She realized that she was lying on the floor and she attempted to sit up, but couldn't at first. Something heavy was pressing against her stomach. Though what was atop her belly was fairly heavy she forced it off of her with little effort due to her abnormal strength.  
  
She managed to finally sit up, only to gasp when she found the thing that had been weighing her down was a lifeless human body. It was Allan Doyle, the host of the Delegates' Ball. She wanted to scream from shock of the dead body beside her, but controlled herself. She looked around. Most of the room-its walls and ceiling-had disintegrated after Oblivion had released a shockwave of such enormity.  
  
Now Rogue was afraid. What if her teammates had died like Allan Doyle from the shockwave? She prayed not. Then was relieved as she saw the other X-men arising from the places they had fallen. She watched as they helped each other off of the rubble-covered floor.  
  
"Tu accord? (You okay)" came a voice, speaking in Cajun accented French.  
  
Her eyes wondered the ruins of the room until she saw Remy, who was less than a foot away. Rogue quickly went over to him. She helped him off the floor and embraced him tightly.  
  
She released him. "Ah'm fine, Remy," she replied. She bit her lip; she wanted to finish what she'd started to tell him earlier at the Ball, but she knew now was not the time. She silently chose to tell him her feelings once they were back in the safety of Xavier's Institute.  
  
She and Remy met their teammates on the other side of the room.  
  
"Hey, is everyone.." Rogue's voice trailed off, remembering waking up to a dead body on her. She shivered.  
  
"No," Kitty answered quietly, somehow knowing her friend's question, "Jean and Scott are helping the delegates that are, um, still alive out of here."  
  
The X-men had been through battles, ones they'd won and lost against Mystique and Wanda, or Magneto's Acolytes. They'd been through battles that could get horrible, but this...this had been the worst so far. Even though all the people that had attended the Ball hadn't died, there were still too many casualties for any sense of comfort in those that did survive.  
  
"Ororo's awake!" Flare announced as the wind-rider's eyes fluttered open.  
  
The white haired woman stood up shakily from the floor, her clothes, like the rest of the X-men and surviving delegates, tattered and dirty.  
  
"What just happened?" Storm questioned after a glance around the room.  
  
"We'll discuss it later. Scott and Red are going to meet us back at the mansion, so let's go home," Logan said in a low, defeated voice. "There's nothin' more we can do here."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Is he going to be all right?" Storm asked.  
  
Storm was pacing in the living room of Xavier's Institute. She was on the phone, talking with the doctor who was taking care of her nephew. Evan was in the hospital emergency room and the doctors wouldn't allow any of the X- men see him since he was in such a terrible state. The chandelier that had fallen on him at the Delegates' Ball had created several internal injuries. If those injuries, had they not have been tended to immediately by Kurt teleporting him to the hospital, could have caused Evan to bleed to death.  
  
Storm sat down on the couch in slight relief. The doctor said he would live, but he had fallen into a coma.  
  
In Xavier's office, as Storm received information of Evan's health, the rest of the X-men were discussing what happened at the Delegates' Ball with the professor.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"--But one thing still puzzles me," said Xavier as he was in his office with the X-men, "how was anyone able to survive? Oblivion's ability to create shockwaves destroys everything it comes in contact with according to what Flare has told me."  
  
"Jean used her psyche to tell me to phaze as many people as I could through the shockwave, while she shielded as many of us and delegates as she could from it," Kitty explained, for the first time in awhile having a serious tone. Though after all the death they had just seen it was hard for even the most cheerful of the X-men to not sound grim.  
  
"Unfortunately, some of the delegates didn't..make it," Scott said sadly, his head held down in shame. "Jean couldn't form a large enough and strong enough mental shield and Kitty didn't have time to grab everyone so they could phaze with her."  
  
"What happened at the Delegates' Ball was horrific. I did not realize how much control Magneto truly had over Oblivion, I shouldn't have underestimated him," Xavier said. He sighed. "Although, understand that none of you have failed me tonight. Oblivion is a powerful mutant, but I have faith that you, my young X-men, will overcome in the end."  
  
"Let us hope so," Hank said, as he stood in the doorway of Xavier's office. Everyone was so wrapped up in guilt and strong feelings of failure that they hadn't even heard him come in. "Sorry to interrupt, Charles, but Storm has just received news regarding Evan's condition."  
  
"And?" Kurt prompted, anxious as his teammates.  
  
"He's going to live, but he is currently comatose. The doctor told Storm that Evan's body simply needs to rest and he will hopefully be awake in a week or two," Hank informed.  
  
"Well, it has been a long night for all of us. All of you are dismissed and may go to bed now," Xavier told his students.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"God, this is the second teenager in a coma this week!" exclaimed Nurse Muriel, as she and a much younger girl named Lara, who was allowed to help out as a volunteer at the hospital during her break from private school, wheeled the young boy sleeping on a stretcher into the hospital room.  
  
Lara was just turning sixteen and already knew she wanted to one day become a nurse. She had short, black hair with dark brown eyes. Her skin was light honey brown and she was tall with a petite frame. In contrast to Lara was Muriel, who was a short, plump, pale skinned woman, and middle aged with short curly brown hair.  
  
Muriel lifted the boy's body and laid him onto a bed.  
  
"The second? Who was the first?" Lara asked.  
  
Muriel turned and gestured over to the girl lying in a bed on the other side of the room.  
  
"That girl over there came in a couple of days ago. It was really weird too, the doctor that had admitted that girl said the woman who brought her to the hospital just dropped her off and split before he could get her to sign any papers," Muriel replied. "But this boy, his name is Evan Daniels, and some other guy his age with a funny accent-think it was German-brought him in, but filled out the necessary forms, then up and disappeared, too-he just vanished."  
  
"Strange," remarked Lara.  
  
"Yeah," Muriel said. "Most kids don't have anyone these days, you know?"  
  
Lara nodded in agreement and they left the room. Evan lied asleep in the bed, unaware that he was sharing a room in the comatose wing of the hospital with Wanda.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Pietro! Lance! I think we've found something!" Fred yelled as he and Todd stood before a massive machine.  
  
Lance and Pietro came down the metal stairs that led to the basement of what had been Magneto's base before they'd attacked it with Mystique and Wanda not too long ago.  
  
"What is it?" Lance asked, as if nearly feeling intimidated by the large machine in front of him.  
  
He saw a rectangular shaped glass in the heart of the device and a screen not far above the glass rectangle, which read something. 'Governor Completely Active,' were the words that repeatedly blinked on the screen.  
  
"What does that mean, yo?" Todd asked.  
  
"I'm guessing it means 'Governor', or whatever, is still functioning," Lance supposed.  
  
Pietro touched his figure to the screen and it changed from the flashing words to an electronic file holding information all about Julia and something called the Oblivion Project.  
  
Pietro read the label of the file aloud, "Era of Magnus, Dawning of Oblivion."  
  
"Now what does that mean, yo?" Todd questioned.  
  
The silver haired boy swallowed hard in his throat. "Trouble," Pietro replied. "It means we're in trouble. I've heard my father talk about this before, but I never thought he'd actually...come on, let's go home. Tomorrow we've got some decisions to make."  
  
The rest of the Brotherhood weren't sure what Pietro meant, but headed home without another word.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"How is Wanda? Is she well?" asked Irene nonchalantly.  
  
Late that same night Destiny was sitting in an armchair inside Mystique's apartment living room. Mystique had just entered, and was shifting into her true blue-skinned form.  
  
"As well as can be expected, she is in a coma," Mystique replied, "but I'm sure you already knew that."  
  
"Yes, I did," said Destiny.  
  
"I bet you knew she would not be able to kill her father that night she and I attacked his base, didn't you?" Mystique asked, but knew the answer.  
  
"Indeed," replied Irene.  
  
"Then why, Irene! Why didn't you warn me, tell me-something!" Mystique yelled.  
  
"Because I knew that particular event could not be stopped, it had already been set to occur since the moment you agreed to partner with the Brotherhood and attack Magneto's base. There was nothing you could have done, the same result would have come about no matter what I could've told you," said Irene.  
  
Mystique gritted her teeth in frustration, "There had to have been something I could have done!"  
  
"Trust me, Raven, there wasn't-just like what happened earlier tonight across town at the Delegates' Ball..."  
  
"What?" Mystique asked confused.  
  
"Don't worry, it will be on the news and the front page of the New York Times tomorrow morning," Destiny said. She paused. "You certainly are worried about Wanda being in a coma. I wonder, Raven, since Rogue and Kurt refuse to acknowledge you as their mother, you aren't beginning to feel maternal instincts toward Wanda, are you?"  
  
"I have no maternal instincts, Irene," Mystique spat.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Flare got up from her mirror after applying some lipstick. It was early the next morning and the sun was brightly lighting her room as she was getting dressed for the day. Her leather pants with matching boots were already on and she was now slipping on a white tank top.  
  
Since she had worked with Embros so long, only being allowed to wear dark clothing or camouflage while doing her missions, she didn't really know how to dress any differently now that she was staying at Xavier's Institute. Though some of the females in the house, such as Jean and Kitty, thought the dark colored clothing "clashed" with her bright reddish blond hair and golden brown eyes; in contrast to Rogue, who was constantly begging to barrow some of her modern, spy-like wardrobe.  
  
"Can I come in?" asked a rough voice from behind her door.  
  
"Depends on what you want," she replied.  
  
Logan took that as the best invitation he would receive to enter her room, so he did. The door swung open and an expression that was a combination of guilt and pain spread across her face at the sight of him.  
  
"You and I have things to discuss," he said as he came in and stood in the middle of her room.  
  
She gaited passed him and stood at the door. "Well, we're going to have to talk about it later. My superiors at Embros are getting anxious to know what's going on with this Oblivion situation, so I've got to go give my report," she told him and was about to leave the room, but he grabbed her wrist.  
  
Memories surfaced in her mind of her, him, their time together..everything. The reminiscences flashed in her eyes, nearly blinding her. She tried to tug her wrist from his grasp, but it was no use; he was determined this time.  
  
"What is it you want from me!" she yelled, her sharp tone surprising him.  
  
"The truth damnit!" he recoiled with the same harsh tone as her. "Last night when we were fighting Oblivion I had the perfect chance to stop her! But by throwing that fireball at me I missed my chance, which give her the opportunity release that huge shockwave that nearly blew the whole building sky-high! That last shockwave, which I could have prevented if you hadn't stopped me, killed several people last night! The blood of those casualties is on your hands because of what you did! I want to know why in the hell you stopped me!"  
  
Flare held back tears. Feeling her own guilt from the time she had killed those predigest men to the deaths she'd indirectly allowed last night; the guilt was nearly suffocating her. She sighed in sadness. She didn't have the strength to hide the truth from him any longer.  
  
"Logan, last night I couldn't let you kill Oblivion. I should have killed her, that's what my boss at Embros Trask thinks is necessary, but I couldn't. I suppose maternal instincts made me stop you. And if you would have killed her last night then I would have felt like dying, too," she said.  
  
He stared at her confused. What she was telling him didn't seem to make any sense in his mind.  
  
"She's my daughter, Logan. Oblivion's my daughter," she admitted.  
  
He blinked, "What?"  
  
I need everyone to report to the living room immediately, came Xavier's voice into Logan, Flare, and the rest of the X-men's minds, who were all in some area of the mansion.  
  
"We'll talk about this later tonight," Logan said as he and Flare headed downstairs.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"She's awake, mate!" John announced, as he sat in a chair across from Julia. He chuckled, a laugh that sounded frighteningly similar to a hyena's. "If I didn't know any better I'd say she looks like she has a bit of a hangover from the Ball, Boss."  
  
Indeed, Julia looked as if she'd been put through hell. Magneto had released his mental control over her hours ago to allow her rest; the last shockwave she'd created at the Delegates' Ball had left her extremely weak. She sat up on the couch of the warehouse she remembered being in before. Although, she could still sense there was something missing in her memory; there was a period of time she couldn't recall and she knew Magneto had something to do with it.  
  
"What did you do to me!" she yelled at Magneto as he entered the room.  
  
The magnetic master only smiled. "You don't remember?" he asked mockingly.  
  
She lunged at him angrily, but an electric shock from her shackles forced her to coil into a fetal position from the pain.  
  
"Now, Oblivion, I'm surprised at you. I thought you would have learned by now that you cannot disobey me, or attempt to harm me without also harming yourself," Magneto said. He paused. "I didn't realize that you are not fully conscious when I control you until now, causing you not to remember things you've done. Though you should consider it a blessing that you don't."  
  
"Why?" she asked with suspicious eyes. "What have I done?"  
  
"Things your mother wouldn't be proud of," John chuckled.  
  
"Pyro, that is enough!" Magneto said sternly. He looked at Julia. "Get some rest. We launch another attack soon."  
  
"What do you honestly plan to gain from this battle against humans?" she questioned. "This only gives humanity more verification to fear us-to hate us!"  
  
"What I will gain from this is peace for mutants, instead of the physical and emotional brutality we've always been shown. I'm merely educating the world through force," he said and turned to leave her.  
  
She watched the magnetic master and Pyro leave the room. This was madness! Magneto was only going to increase the difficulty of life for mutants around the world by starting a war, which would provide humanity more reason to fear them.  
  
She stared down at her shackles....and she would be a part of his insane war; she would be his weapon and cause human suffering. Then she saw tiny drops of a red substance fall upon her hands. She felt the source of the crimson droplets on her face and realized her nose was bleeding. Strange, normally she would have healed by now no matter what Magneto had done to her under his power hours ago. But something was wrong. Then she realized whatever Magneto was forcing her to do with the shackles was affecting her physically; it was slowly killing her.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Lance!" Kitty cried happily as he and the rest of the Brotherhood entered the living room from Xavier's office. The X-men were waiting patiently in the room as Xavier had requested.  
  
Kitty hugged the mutant code named Avalanche closely and kissed him.  
  
"Whoa, you should give me a 'hello' like that all the time, Kitty-cat!" Lance told his girlfriend with a smile.  
  
Kitty rolled her eyes, but smiled, "I haven't seen you in awhile and I've missed you that's all."  
  
"But vait, vhy are you guys here?" Kurt asked.  
  
"Yeah, why are THEY here?" Scott questioned bitterly, as he glared at Lance.  
  
"Calm down, everyone," Xavier said. "I have just spoken with the Brotherhood and they've come to a decision-they would like to unite with us in our fight against Magneto."  
  
"What!" Rogue said in surprise.  
  
"Vhat are ve, recruiting people for the army here!?" Kurt exclaimed.  
  
"Kurt's right. First Gambit and now the Brotherhood suddenly want to help us. Since when did our enemies grow consciences?" Jean quizzed.  
  
"Since Julia is a part of our family, yo!" Todd snapped.  
  
"Julia?" Rogue repeated curiously.  
  
"Oblivion's real name is Julia," Pietro informed. "And we didn't come here to help you fight Julia, we want to save her. But we will aid you in your battle with my father, since we have to destroy him to free her."  
  
"Well, what do you think?" Fred asked, looking to the X-men for approval of the joining of the two teams.  
  
Flare glared at Pietro. "They're lying," she said to Xavier. "I bet they want Oblivion for her powers just as Magneto does, and Pietro is, after all, Magneto's son, so betrayal runs in the blood."  
  
The boy code named Quicksilver stared at the reddish blond haired woman. He hadn't seen her before and assumed she was a friend of the X-men. "Look lady," Pietro began sharply, "I don't know who you are, but I care a lot about Julia. And how the hell do you get off telling me what my motives are! You don't even know me!"  
  
"I know what's in your blood, and the fact you're related to Magneto is enough incentive for me not to trust you, especially when it comes to Julia!" Flare said. "People like you and Magneto don't care if you have to endanger lives as long as your need for power is satisfied!"  
  
"What place do you have to say that I'm a danger to Julia? Who are you, her mother!" Pietro said, thinking he had the argument won by his last comment.  
  
"Actually, I am!" Flare snapped.  
  
The room fell silent. All of the X-men stared at Flare with questioning eyes, even Xavier, with the exception of Logan, who only sighed.  
  
"Flare, I'd like to see you in my office," Xavier said, breaking the silence.  
  
She nodded and followed the professor out of the living room, leaving the X- men shocked and the Brotherhood slightly confused as to the reason of their shock.  
  
"Well, dis don' look good," Remy commented, as he sat on the couch beside Rogue.  
  
"Yeah," agreed Rogue. "How are we gonna stop Oblivion? We already couldn't handle her at the Delegates' Ball."  
  
Remy nodded and paused. "What were y' gon' t' say t' me at de Ball?" he asked.  
  
Rogue frowned. She knew it wasn't the right time. There were more significant matters to be concerned with besides her feelings toward the Cajun. "Nothin' Remy, nothin' important," she said quietly.  
  
"Everyt'ing y' say is important t' me, chèrie," he said and smiled at her.  
  
She grinned back at him a moment. She wanted to tell him, but felt her throat become dry and she couldn't force the words out of her mouth. *A'll tell him, jus' not yet, * she decided.  
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A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!! 


	23. Chapter 23: Revelations

Thanks to all who sent me reviews!!! There is a sexual implication in this chap and y'all have now been warned- don't worry its not too bad, I think-lol!  
  
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Chapter 23: Revelations  
  
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"I tried to be conscious of your privacy and not invade it," Xavier said, continuing his lecture, "but when your personal secrets jeopardize the lives of my students, whom I consider family, I just cannot allow it."  
  
Flare stood in front of him. Though he had offered her a seat, she'd declined. She refused to sit in the chair and be ashamed, or intimidated as the way a child sitting in the principle's office would feel.  
  
Her arms were crossed over her chest defensively. "It's none of anyone's damn business if I'm Julia's mother or not!" she protested.  
  
"Flare, you must come to realize that the fact you're Oblivion's mother affects your actions," Xavier said. "Take for example what happened last night at the Delegates' Ball-you threw a fireball at Logan when he attempted to stop her. You attacked your own teammate to protect her!"  
  
"What exactly are you implying, Xavier?" she inquired, anger lurking in her voice.  
  
"I'm implying that Oblivion being of your own blood clouds your judgment," he said. "I promised you when you first came to my institute for help in finding Oblivion that I would do everything in my power to prevent stopping her by ending her life. And I still believe in that promise because she is being forced to do these terrible acts, but I'm beginning to wonder if you'll be able to stop her by any means necessary, to save the lives of people, as well as your teammates."  
  
She stared into the professor's eyes. "If I can't recapture her alive, if it comes to that then you shouldn't worry because my time as an Embros agent has taught me to be quite decisive when I have to," she assured, yet with a twinge of sadness in her voice.  
  
"Flare, one other thing..." he said as she turned to leave.  
  
"What?" she asked softly.  
  
"When are you going to tell Logan the other part of the truth about Oblivion?" Xavier asked.  
  
She glared at him. He had read her mind without her even knowing it. *Sometimes I hate that he's a telepath, * Flare thought. "I'll tell him soon, I just don't want...I'm trying not to overcomplicate things right now," she said and quietly left the office.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"So, where's the girls' dormitory? I want to go visit Kitty," Lance said.  
  
Lance was plopping down on the huge bed of his new room that afternoon. Xavier had allowed he and the rest of the Brotherhood to stay at the mansion since they were going to fight with the X-men against Magneto. The Brotherhood happily agreed to this lodging invitation since their house was falling apart. Scott had shown the other Brotherhood boys to their new rooms already, and Lance was the last one.  
  
"If I were you I'd be more concerned about tomorrow morning," Scott warned.  
  
"Really? And why is that?" Lance inquired.  
  
Scott glared, "Because you might wake up with a hole in your chest..."  
  
"And let me guess, from your optic beam or whatever, right? Look, I didn't come here to help you stuck-up X-geeks because I wanted to!" Lance admitted. "Pietro is really worried about Julia, and because I consider him and Julia family, I'm trying to cooperate, okay?"  
  
Scott sighed. He stared at Lance a long while, making an inner decision. "I guess I can manage not to give you a hard time, just as long as you stay out of my way," he said, but with sharpness in his tone.  
  
"Fine. Now get out of my room, Summers," Lance snapped.  
  
Scott snorted and left. He supposed the Brotherhood and X-men could handle working together without killing each other if that's what it took to stop Magneto, or at least he hoped they could.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"There's another half of the truth I haven't told you," Flare said as she sat on Logan's bed in his room.  
  
It had just become nighttime outside of Xavier's mansion as darkness crept into the sky. Logan was standing in front of her, staring at her, but their eyes did not meet.  
  
"What is it?" he asked, sensing some nervousness arising in her scent; she was usually a confident person and the change in her scent was starting to alarm him before the conversation had even really began.  
  
"Do you remember when I was seeing things from the past? Having those flashbacks?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah," he replied. "What about 'em?"  
  
"Well, I've remembered almost every aspect of you and I and things that happened after," she said. "When Embros found me, separated us and took me back to the labs they wanted to make sure I didn't escape again with the hope of being reunited with you. So, they gave me some sort of experimental drug to erase that time we spent together from my memory."  
  
She paused. "When I had Julia they didn't erase my memory of her and send her to a foster home, they did something worse," she said. "Instead, they made her a part of their experiments on mutants. They gave her growth drugs to make her age, so she could go pass puberty faster and her mutation could manifest.  
  
When she got out of control they had me capture her and they locked her up in the camber you broke her out of a while ago, so she could be controlled. But one thing they used the memory-erasing drug to do was to also make me forget my memories of Julia's father."  
  
She paused once again. She was uncertain as to how Logan would react to what she was about to tell him. "Apparently, the drug that was supposed to erase my memory only worked temporarily, but Embros doesn't know this because the drug was experimental, that's why I've been having flashbacks," she said. "And they also don't know that I've found you again, which helped to trigger those memories as the drug wore off. And now, I know the secret they've been keeping from you and I...Logan, you are Julia's father."  
  
He looked at her with an expression of pure astonishment. For a few moments, he simply stood there dumbfounded, his mind trying to clasp comprehension of what she had told him.  
  
"She's my daughter? But how, she's at least sixteen years old and we've only been apart eight years?" he reasoned.  
  
"I told you, Embros forced her to age faster than ordinary children so they could better study her mutation. Although, now she's aging normally, since they stopped using the growth drugs on her," she replied.  
  
"She's my daughter. My daughter," Logan said incredulously to himself.  
  
"I know this is a lot for you. I mean, I didn't even know, or rather remember, until the time you'd kissed me a while ago. Xavier has wanted me to tell you since the moment I remembered. I'm sorry, I didn't want to put such a burden on you now, in the middle of all that's going on with Magneto," she said quietly.  
  
She stood up to leave. She assumed her fears were now confirmed. She thought that because of his silence it was clear he didn't want a child. *We haven't seen each other in almost a decade. His life has changed and so has mine. Knowing that he has a child interrupts what his life has become without having to worry about me. Maybe I shouldn't have told him, * Flare thought. It was shocking news, so she understood if he didn't want this new and unexpected responsibility of having a child. She was about to open his door to leave.  
  
"You're not going anywhere!" he said. Startled, she spun around to face him, her back now to the door. "Now, you claim you remember everything about you and me, but you must not remember what type of man I was and what I felt for you. Meg, for you and I to have a child together is not a burden to me-it's a blessing."  
  
He pulled her into a slow, deep kiss; though this time she did not push him away, as she had before. He nibbled at her neck in a familiar way and she chuckled from the mix of slight pain and ticklish sensation it gave her. He pulled her up into his arms, and her legs wrapped around his waste. She decided to give in; she'd been fighting the feelings between them too long.  
  
She responded with her own kiss, devouring his mouth. The sudden passion in her kiss threw his mind and body off balance so he fell on his back onto the floor. He moaned in a low tone, but it came out as a subdued growl; his beast, the feral Wolverine inside him, tried to claw it's way out, not wanting him to be gentle, but to match her passion.  
  
She pulled away from him a moment to breathe and realized they were on the floor and she was sitting atop him. Her hand gently glided across his cheek. She now realized she had been wrong for hiding the truth about their daughter from him and for pushing him away all that time, knowing how much it hurt him. "I'm sorry," she whispered.  
  
Though Logan didn't hear her; the beast inside him gave her a searing kiss, while pulling her onto the floor beside him...  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
***The ground was rushing beneath Rogue...trees, grass, even the mansion she lived in was disappearing from sight as she stared downward and the land moved in the opposite direction in which she seemed to be going.  
  
What was happening?  
  
She could see the crescent moon and it felt much closer than it ever had before, as did the stars that glittered across the night sky. Suddenly, her body went straight through a cloud. She realized she was flying. She panicked and lost all concentration, her body began to plummet from the sky, as she thought over and over: Ah can't fly! Ah can't fly! ***  
  
"AH CAN'T FLY!!!" she screamed as she bolted upward in bed.  
  
"What?" Kitty muttered as she sat up in the bed across from her roommate. She yawned. "What's wrong, Rogue?"  
  
"Nothin'," Rogue said. "Sorry for wakin' ya. Go back t' sleep."  
  
Kitty eyed her friend worriedly a moment, but was too tired to question. "Okay," she said and it was the last thing she muttered before dropping back into her own slumber.  
  
Rogue's heartbeat was slowly beginning to return to normal, but she knew she couldn't go back to sleep now. She got out of bed and headed for the staircase so she could get some cool water to help calm her down. Though as she stood at the set of stairs, something that felt almost magnetic made her go to Remy's room instead.  
  
She tiptoed inside and stared at him for a moment as he slept. *God, he's handsome an' he looks so innocent an' sweet when he's sleepin'. Too bad he has t' open his big mouth an' ruin his good looks wit' all that cockiness of his, * Rogue thought with a quiet chuckle.  
  
Though Remy heard her small laughter and stared up at the face in front of him.  
  
"I knew y' couldn't resist me, chèrie," he said with a sleepy, but nonetheless charming smile.  
  
*Like Ah said, he jus' has t' open that mouth... * She punched his arm lightly. "Ah'm not here for that kinda thing, Remy-honestly, do ya think about anything else? On second thought, don't answer that question," she said with a half smile.  
  
"Mais (Well), if not for dat, den why are y' here?"  
  
"Ah had a nightmare, an' Ah'm-"  
  
"Scared," he supplied.  
  
"No, not scared! Ah'm jus' shaken a bit, that's all," she corrected.  
  
"Remy understand," he said calmly and moved to the other side of the bed, allowing her enough room to lie beside him.  
  
"Ah told ya already! Ah'm not here t'-"  
  
"I know. Y' jus' want comfort. Y' want t' feel safe, so I figure dat dream must've been pretty scary," he said thoughtfully. "Sorry, Remy ain't sleepin' on de floor t'night, but we can share de bed-I don' mind."  
  
"I bet ya don'," she muttered and climbed into the bed beside him. *This is the second time Ah've ended up asleep in Remy's bed-wonder if Ah'm startin' t' make this a habit, * she thought and almost laughed. "Aren't ya afraid Ah'll roll over in the middle o' the night an' touch ya an' put ya in a coma, or worse, kill ya?"  
  
He half smiled. "Dere not'ing I be afraid of, an' even if y' touch me an' I die at least I'd die happy," he said with a chuckle.  
  
"Remy, don' joke like that," she said grimly.  
  
He grimaced a moment. "I know, chèrie," he said in a serious tone and paused. He smiled. "Goodnight."  
  
"G'night," she whispered.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The next morning everyone was getting dressed and ready for a session in the Danger Room Xavier had decided to schedule to help prepare for Magneto's next attack. Though Scott had noticed some people weren't up, so as usual he sent Kurt to go wake them.  
  
Kurt's first stop was at Logan's room. *Veird, Logan's never late for training, * he thought. He knocked on the door and spoke, "Logan, it's ve Kurt. Are you avake?"  
  
The fuzzy, blue mutant opened the door and nearly fainted at what he saw. Logan was lying on some unorganized sheets with Flare cuddled up on his bare chest, she was only covered by a sheet that was loosely tangled around her body as they slept.  
  
Kurt immediately felt embarrassed for barging in and was retreating backwards to the door when he almost tripped on one of Flare's black, leather boots; her golden brown eyes opened at the sound of Kurt's stumbling.  
  
"Kurt?" she murmured as she stirred. Flare's eyes went from sleepy to dear- in-the-headlights. "Kurt!"  
  
"Sor-sorry," Kurt stammered, his blue cheeks turning red and Flare wanted to laugh. "Just vanted to tell you there's a, um, training session in the, uh, Danger Room."  
  
"We'll be down in a sec, elf," came Logan's gruff voice. He was awake, but was lying immobile in the bed, his eyes still closed, not wanting to get up.  
  
"O-okay," was the last word Kurt stuttered before he rushed out the room, almost slamming his tail in the door as he closed it behind him.  
  
Kurt's cheeks were finally returning to their original azure color when he was heading to Remy's room. Remy being late to get up in the morning was nothing unusual; the Cajun could sleep twenty-four hours straight if the professor would allow it.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Rogue lifted her head off of the pillow and sat up to find Remy was still soundly asleep beside her. Her bare hand carefully brushed away a few stray strains of Remy's dark hair from his face. She gazed at him a moment.  
  
Her hand reached out to touch his face, her fingers dangling inches from his cheek. She smiled. *Anything's possible, * she thought. She had been so frightened last night and Remy had known exactly how to comfort her, he always did. He somehow knew that merely his presence around Rogue made her feel a strange sense of security and solace. No matter what would later happen with Oblivion and Magneto, she knew she needed to find the courage to tell Remy how she felt; she owed him that at least, he'd unknowingly given her so much already.  
  
She grimaced and pulled her hand away. If any of her teammates caught her in Remy's room, as Kurt had done a while ago, she would have much explaining to do. She quickly got out of his bed.  
  
"Chèrie..." Remy muttered sleepily, feeling the sudden shift in the bed. He sat up and found Rogue exiting his room.  
  
As Rogue was shutting Remy's door behind her, she nearly walked straight into her adopted brother.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Rogue! You veren't in HIS room again, vere you?" Kurt asked.  
  
"Jus' leave this alone, Kurt, please," she begged. She stood in the doorway guardedly, blocking her brother from entering the room. Kurt disappeared with a poof of smoke and reappeared behind her in Remy's room.  
  
"Bonjour, Kurt," Remy said cordially as he got out of bed and headed for Rogue.  
  
Kurt was turning red, but not an embarrassed red as he had with Logan and Flare. Instead, he was becoming an enraged scarlet.  
  
"I told you to stay avay from my sister!" Kurt yelled and lunged at the Cajun, sending both of them to the floor as they began to brawl.  
  
"Will ya two cut it out! This is ridiculous!" Rogue declared, trying desperately to stand between the two boys since she couldn't physically pull them apart by not having her gloves on. "Ah can't believe y'all are acting this way!" Although, she had always known that eventually the tension between her brother and Remy would result in something like this.  
  
After a few moments, she finally got Kurt to come out of the room and into the hallway. She gave her brother a strong glare.  
  
"Kurt, ya are such a hypocrite! Ya told me once t' do whatever makes me happy. Then ya turn around an' try t' destroy the thing that's makin' me feel joy for the first time in mah life!" Rogue scolded.  
  
"Remy makes you happy?!" Kurt exclaimed in surprise.  
  
"Yeah, he does! Can't ya understand that!" she yelled in frustration.  
  
"I just don't vant to let him hurt you," he said.  
  
"Ah know, Kurt. Ah know ya want t' be the protective brother an' save me when Ah'm in trouble, but ya need t' understand that Ah'm fine. Ah'm growin' up an' Ah don' need ya t' protect me when Ah'm old enough t' defend myself," she told him.  
  
Kurt sighed. He stared at Rogue a long time; he saw the honesty and firm belief she felt in her own words through her emerald eyes. "Vell, I guess the Cajun isn't so bad if you like him," he finally decided.  
  
She glanced in the room at Remy and half smiled, "He'll grow on ya."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Scott blasted another huge rock to pieces with his optic beam right before it crushed Toad.  
  
"Thanks, Summers," Todd said and hopped away to help the rest of the X-men and Brotherhood dodge and destroy the huge, hurdling boulders.  
  
"KITTY!!!" Lance yelled as he saw a boulder quickly creeping toward Shadowcat's back.  
  
He was about to create an earthquake and send the boulder in another direction when he saw Rogue racing toward the girl. Rogue was running as fast as she could and suddenly her feet lifted from the ground. She swooped in through the air dangerously close to the boulder and grabbed Shadowcat from its path. She dropped her friend gently beside Lance. Then she turned around and punched the massive rock in its middle with her right fist, splitting it into two halves directly down the center.  
  
Both the Brotherhood and X-men stared at Rogue as her feet slowly met the ground again.  
  
"Rogue, oh my god you can, like, fly!" Kitty exclaimed.  
  
The gothic X-girl looked as surprised as the rest of them. "But how?" was all Rogue could say.  
  
"Stop the simulation," Xavier said to Storm and she did. She, Xavier, Logan and Flare were in the control area of the Danger Room, astounded by what they'd seen Rogue do as well.  
  
You and I need to talk, Xavier told Rogue.  
  
Yes, sir, she thought back and left the Danger Room.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Professor, Ah have no idea how Ah did it. Ah jus' saw Kitty in trouble an' the rest is sort o' blurry," Rogue said as she sat in the office.  
  
"Rogue," Xavier said calmly, as he sat in front of her, "I believe I know what's happened. Carol Danvers had superstrength, invulnerability and was able to fly. You see, you had this power all along, since the day you permanently absorbed Carol's powers."  
  
"What?" she said not understanding. "Well, why wasn't Ah able t' fly before?"  
  
"There are several reasons-maybe it wasn't until recently that your own mutation evolved enough to allow you to control Carol's powers to the fullest extent. Or it could have been a psychological block," he said.  
  
"A psychological block?" she repeated.  
  
"Yes," he confirmed. "Maybe something has happened, or changed in your life to give you enough confidence to enable yourself to fly."  
  
*Confidence? Ah guess spendin' time wit' Remy does make me feel pretty good 'bout mahself, which is the opposite o' how Ah've felt since the day mah powers, mah curse, manifested. Since Remy's came into mah life Ah've been more happy an' self-assured than Ah've ever been..he makes me feel like Ah can do the most impossible things, * Rogue thought. *That would explain mah dream when Ah was flyin' an' Ah kept fallin' because Ah didn't believe Ah could fly, Ah didn't have confidence in mahself. An' then Ah spend last night in Remy's room an' t'day Ah was soarin' like a bird in trainin'. *  
  
"So, Professor, do ya think-Ah mean, is it possible that a psychological block could be the reason Ah can't touch?" she asked.  
  
"Perhaps," he replied uncertain. "It would make more sense that you have a mental block that won't allow you to take control of your absorption ability since you've been working so hard at it physically and getting no results."  
  
"Well, Ah better get back t' the Danger Room, gotta be ready when Magneto attacks again," she said.  
  
"Indeed," he agreed. The gothic girl was about to leave his office. "And Rogue, I'm proud of they way you saved your teammate without hesitation. You did quite well with the Danger Room's new simulation and tell the others the same when you get downstairs."  
  
"Thanks, Professor, Ah will," she said and left the room.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Oh, no you don't, Mr. Daniels!" Nurse Muriel said sternly as she forced the boy to lie down in the hospital bed that night. "No getting up and walking around! You still have wounds to heal. You just woke up a couple days ago and your Aunt Ororo as well as the doctor made it clear you don't need to be tiring yourself out again, being up and about."  
  
"But my teammates-I mean, my friends need me!" Evan protested.  
  
"I'm sorry, Mr. Daniels, but you're going to rest in this bed until you are completely well," she said and left.  
  
A few moments later Lara came into the room. Evan watched quietly as adorable, brown skinned girl poured some cool water and ice from a pitcher into the empty cup on the nightstand beside his bed. He tried desperately to hide the smile on lips that would form every time he saw her, since the moment he first laid eyes on her when he'd first woken from his coma.  
  
"How are you doing?" Lara asked as she sat the pitcher down a moment and rested herself on the edge of his bed.  
  
He smiled, "I'm hanging in there. But I really need to get out of here-"  
  
"Don't even think about it! For the last time, I'm not helping you to escape the hospital, Mr. Daniels!" she said.  
  
"Why not? You're just volunteering during a school break, so you can't get fired," Evan said.  
  
"Yeah, sure I could, Mr. Daniels, and get banded from the same hospital I hope someday to work at if I did help you!"  
  
He sighed. "Okay, so you've got a point, but I'm not staying here. There are things going on at home that I've got to help with," he said. "And I've told you I hate being called Mr. Daniels, just call me Evan."  
  
"Well, you can try to escape, but with Nurse Muriel around I doubt you'll make it to the exit door, 'Evan'," she said. "Besides, why don't you make good use of your time here and keep the girl you're sharing a room with company until she wakes up. From what I've heard she doesn't have anybody."  
  
Lara left the room and Evan struggled to stand up. He limped over to the comatose girl he was sharing the room with. He hadn't seen her since he'd woken up because he was so far across the room and Nurse Muriel would hardly ever let him out of bed. He stared down at the girl and was shocked find he knew who she was and even more alarmed to see her hand move slightly; she was waking up.  
  
Her eyes opened.  
  
"Wanda!" he exclaimed.  
  
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A/N: I hope y'all are still liking my story. Oh, and REVIEWS are always appreciated! Cam:. Chao! 


	24. Chapter 24: Fate

Thanks for the reviews!  
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Chapter 24: Fate  
  
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"Evan!" Wanda yelled in shock herself. She used her powers to throw him backwards, the force causing him to skid across the floor away from her and his backside bumped into his own bed.  
  
She sat up and tired to climb out of bed, but couldn't. She winced. *God, I feel sore all over...what happened? Where am I? *  
  
Evan stood up from the floor and a spike extracted from both his arms, directed at Wanda. The two spikes shot from his arms and Wanda's powers forced them to change their course for her and stab into a wall instead.  
  
He prepared himself for a fight, but then he noticed she wasn't moving; it didn't seem she was going to retaliate. She had her hands pressed against her forehead as if her mind was throbbing.  
  
Evan slowly approached her, his spikes primed to unleash if necessary. "Are you all right?" he asked, standing beside her bed, his eyes suddenly held sympathy.  
  
"How did I get here?" she asked, realizing she was in a hospital room.  
  
"I don't know. I just woke up two days ago, you were here before I came in," he replied.  
  
"Mystique must've brought me," she muttered. "I've got to get out of here."  
  
"I've been trying to do that since I woke up, but that damn Nurse Muriel is always waiting outside the room, making sure I don't," he said. "And anyway I haven't been feeling well enough to leave. The doctor says I still have a bunch of healing to do, or whatever."  
  
Wanda tried to stand, but nearly fell and Evan caught her in his arms.  
  
"You should probably lie down. I mean, no offense, girl, but you look in worse shape than me," he commented.  
  
Though she pushed her way out of his hold and once more tried to stand, only to have Evan catch her again. He let her down on her bed and gave her a strong glare.  
  
"How many times am I going to have to catch you tonight in your attempts to stand?" he asked.  
  
"You don't have to catch me," she stated firmly. "I don't need your help. I'm getting out of here on my own."  
  
"Yeah, right. I'm sure you can just knock out a few nurses and you'll be able to escape with no problem," he said sarcastically. "Wanda, you can't even stand for more than five seconds, how in the hell are you going to walk out of the hospital?!"  
  
She grimaced. *Porcupine has a point, * she thought.  
  
"Look, I know we're supposed to be enemies, but we both need to rest and get well," he said. "After that, we can try to kill each other again."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The next day, in early afternoon, a lustrous, black car came to a halt across from the Xavier Institute. Inside of the tinted windowed vehicle were Mystique and Destiny.  
  
"Irene, you have to be wrong!" Mystique protested in disbelief of the fortune her friend had foreseen.  
  
"No," Destiny assured. "Some visions I have can have alternate possibilities, but this does not. I told you, Raven, the battle had to come- the one that would decide the fates of several people, human and mutant alike. And I also told you that this battle would not fair well for your children Kurt and Rogue."  
  
Mystique shook her head incredulously. "No, no, what you're saying can't be true! You're telling me that my daughter-that Rogue will DIE!" she exclaimed.  
  
"As much as it pains me...yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you."  
  
"I can't accept that!"  
  
"You don't have to. Fate is not concerned with what you accept," Destiny said. "This great power-the mutant girl called Oblivion-she's a force that only Rogue can stop. Rogue's death will save our lives, it's as simple as that."  
  
"No, Irene, it is not!" Mystique declared. "I won't let it be! I won't sit here and allow my only daughter to die!"  
  
Mystique stepped out of the car with Destiny following. Mystique didn't even bother to change her appearance; she went straight to the Xavier Institute's gate in her natural, blue-skinned form.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Try again, Stripes. I know you can do this," encouraged Logan.  
  
He and Flare were in the Danger Room since Xavier had asked them to coach Rogue with her newfound flight ability. Even though Rogue could fly, she still couldn't manage doing so without a running start or being intensely focused; she needed to learn how to fly as if it came naturally, to help her use her flying gift in a moment's notice and without much effort.  
  
Rogue stood across from her two trainers, concentrating on her goal to fly. She closed her eyes and felt her feet leave the ground for moment, but then fell on her backside. She punched the floor on which she sat in frustration and wasn't surprised to see a hole where her fist had been.  
  
"Rogue, you have gotta be more careful with that extrastrength. I swear, you've cost Chuck hundreds of bucks in repairing damages to the Institute that you've created," Logan said.  
  
"Sorry," Rogue muttered and stood up again.  
  
"Listen, Rogue, try not to concentrate too much. You're trying to summon your flying ability with as much ease as possible and without too much exertion," Flare reminded. "Close your eyes and don't just believe you can, know you can."  
  
Rogue nodded to indicate she understood the Flare's words. Her eyes shut and she stood absolutely still, not concerning herself with anything except the task at hand.  
  
"I knew ya could, Stripes," Logan said smiling.  
  
She opened her eyes and saw she was hovering in the air a few feet above Logan and Flare. She hadn't even felt her boots depart from the floor. She flew up even higher, touched the ceiling and twirled around in the air with an irresistible feeling of triumph.  
  
Scott entered the room. "Sorry to interrupt, but you won't believe who's here," he said.  
  
"Who?" Rogue asked as her she continued her floating.  
  
"Mystique," Scott replied.  
  
Rogue's eyes widened in shock and she lost her entire concentration.  
  
"Logan!" Flare cried as she saw the gothic girl suddenly falling.  
  
Rogue fell threw the air and Logan instinctively caught her. He carefully let her out of his arms as she stood up on the floor.  
  
"Sorry, Rogue, maybe I should have told you Mystique was here after your flying lessons," Scott said.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Xavier, how could you let them into our home!" Storm exclaimed.  
  
The X-men were all gathered in the living room, Mystique and Destiny standing before them.  
  
"Ororo, Raven assured me that her intentions for coming here today were respectable," Xavier said. "And I did read her mind to be sure, she is being honest."  
  
"There's nothing 'honest' about that bitch!" Flare declared with anger.  
  
"Oh, I like her, yo!" Todd joked with a smile at Flare.  
  
"Yeah," said Lance, agreeing with Todd, and Kitty nudged her boyfriend's stomach.  
  
"I'm joking, Kitty-cat," Lance said.  
  
Flare continued, "Don't you remember how she's lied to you as well as me before? She made me believe you were the ones that had kidnapped my daughter, remember? But she had done so herself!"  
  
Mystique grimaced, "I do not expect any of you to trust me, and you wouldn't after everything that's happened-"  
  
"Ya got that right," Rogue interrupted.  
  
"To be honest, Rogue is the reason we're here," Destiny said. "You see, as most of you already know I am able to foresee occurrences and one thing I have seen that will occur is Rogue's fate, which is what all of your lives depend on. She is the key to stopping Oblivion and Magneto. She is the key to preventing the Era of Magnus."  
  
"The Era of vhat?" Kurt asked.  
  
"The Era of Magnus," Pietro replied.  
  
"What, may I ask, is dat?" questioned Remy, but before Pietro could answer Irene interjected.  
  
"Turn on your television," Irene told them and received several confused looks from the mutants. "Just do it."  
  
Todd clasped the TV remote with his long, toad-like tongue from the floor, threw it up in the air and caught it in his hand.  
  
"That's, like, so disgusting," Kitty commented.  
  
Todd just smirked at her visible revulsion of him and clicked the TV on.  
  
The television screen displayed an image of Magneto, who was standing in the middle of Times Square. Oblivion was with him, still in her white dress from the Delegates' Ball, suspended in mid-air behind him. Her eyes were void of emotion and filled with gold light, as they had been when he'd been controlling her at the Delegates' Ball. People were running away in fear of the floating being. A local reporter filmed the magnetic master and Oblivion as she watched from a helicopter high above.  
  
"The death of this time, this age of human rule, has come. Today will be the birth of anew-The Era of Magnus, a time of long awaited peace for all of my mutant brothers and sisters in the world," Magneto said. He paused. "I know you're watching Charles, and I am now declaring war on the human race. You and your band of mutant misfits had better come to me if you don't want your precious humans to be harmed."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Magneto used his magnetic power and pulled the metal helicopter that had been filming him down from the sky. The helicopter dived downward from his powers' drawl and the reporters inside purchased out of it before hit the pavement and made a large explosion. People were thrown in all sorts of directions; some people were injured, others still trying to escape from the disaster that was happening.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The TV screen turned black and the image of Magneto that was being filmed could no longer be seen.  
  
"Oh my god," Jean said. "Magneto's really serious! He's going to kill all those people!"  
  
"Not if we stop him," Pietro said.  
  
"Quicksilver's right. Come on, everyone get into your uniforms. We've got to hurry," Scott said, taking the role of leader.  
  
The X-men and Brotherhood left the living room to quickly put on their uniforms, but Mystique grabbed Rogue's arm before she could leave the room.  
  
Mystique grimaced, "No, you can't-"  
  
"Let go o' me!" Rogue demanded.  
  
Though the shapeshifter was persistent, "But, Rogue, you don't understand! This is the battle, the oblivion, Destiny has told me about. You can't go or you'll-"  
  
"Raven!" Destiny said sternly. "It is out of your hands, stop trying to change fate!"  
  
Mystique glared at the foreseer, but released Rogue's arm and allowed her to go change into her uniform without another word.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"What are you doing?" Wanda asked as she saw her hospital roommate climb out of bed after the TV had gone black.  
  
"You saw what was on that TV, just as I did," Evan said. "I can't just sit here and hope that my friends will be fine, I've gotta do something!"  
  
"You're crazy!" she told him.  
  
"What?!" he exclaimed.  
  
"You're going to go out there up against Oblivion and Magneto. You'll probably get yourself killed and for what? A bunch of X-idiots and an old, rich, psychic professor, whom haven't come in the passed two days to even check on you and make sure you're all right after waking up from a coma!" Wanda said.  
  
"They've been busy training to fight Magneto and Oblivion," Evan explained.  
  
"Is that the truth or what they've told you? What, you don't believe that the reason they haven't been able to come see you is because of their own selfishness?" she asked. "You can't believe that maybe your aunt was tired of you attitude and screwing up at school, so she just forgot about you?"  
  
"First of all MY family isn't like yours! They care about me, and if they didn't care about me they wouldn't have taken me to this hospital when I was nearly dead. And my aunt knows I'm trying to be a better student, and as long as I'm trying she doesn't care how bad I screw up!" he said. "Look, just because your father abandoned you and threw you into a mental institution as soon as he could doesn't me that you should treat people so terrible and try to make others feel as miserable as you!"  
  
"My father has nothing to do with how I treat people!" she yelled.  
  
"Really? Well, you've dedicated your life to destroying him and you lash out at anyone trying to help you, so I think he has a lot to do with how you treat people," he said. "I think you don't really want to kill him, you want his approval."  
  
"What!?" she yelled.  
  
"You're still wondering why he abandoned you when you were so young. Deep down all you want is to make him be proud of you because when he left you at that mental institution you couldn't understand how you'd failed him as his daughter," he explained. "There's a part of you that just wants a family, but since you've never had one you take all your anger out on everyone!"  
  
"SHUT UP!" Wanda screeched. "I've had enough of you trying to psycho analyze me! If you want to go help your alleged friends and get yourself killed then go ahead, but I'm staying here."  
  
"Fine, stay then! You claim me risking my life to save the lives of others is crazy, but at least I'm doing something that's worth it," Evan said as he went to the closet of his side of the room to put on his X-man uniform, which had been brought with a few of his other things to make his stay at the hospital more comfortable. "Your wasting your life, you know that? Being obsessed with the destruction of your father for a mistake he made years ago, now that's crazy!"  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"What is SHE doing here?" Scott asked Xavier with an edge to his voice. Both the X-men and Brotherhood were hidden inside an empty, dim-lighted warehouse across from where Oblivion and Magneto were causing chaos.  
  
Xavier glanced behind him at the shapeshifter, who had come there with them. Though Destiny had stayed at the mansion with Hank to watch over her. "Mystique has decided she wants to help us," Xavier replied.  
  
"You can't be serious!" Flare said. "Mystique can't be trusted! She changes sides almost as much as she changes shape!"  
  
"Flare, calm down," Storm said. "Charles would know if Mystique were lying and I, personally, don't believe she is right now. I think she truly wants to help us and to defeat Magneto we need as much help as possible."  
  
Flare sighed. "You're right. I just-I'm still getting used to trusting people," she admitted and glanced at Logan.  
  
"All right, now that ve're done arguing vhat's the plan?" Kurt asked.  
  
"Well, I say we split up into groups. Then each group can attack Magneto and Oblivion from different angles," Scott suggested.  
  
"Remy got a better idea, mon ami," said the Cajun.  
  
"Which would be?" Rogue prompted.  
  
"Why don' we lure dem into a trap?" Remy suggested. "De Brotherhood had spent time with Oblivion-who had become de closest t' her?"  
  
"Pietro did," Lance answered.  
  
"So, Pietro an' Oblivion gotta t'ing for one another?" Remy asked.  
  
"Yeah, yo, but so what?" Todd inquired and Pietro glared at toad-like boy for confirming he had feelings for Oblivion.  
  
"Well den, t'ink I got an idea," Remy said.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Evan crept down the hallway that was outside of his hospital room that sunny afternoon. Someone was behind him. He spun around, a spike in-hand.  
  
"Wanda!" he yelled.  
  
She threw a hand over his mouth. "Shut up! Are you trying to caught, you idiot?" Wanda hissed, but was as quiet as a whisper. It amazed Evan that she could give insults in such a soft voice.  
  
"I thought you were staying in your comfy hospital bed. What changed your mind?" he asked.  
  
"You made me feel guilty for not helping to stop Oblivion," she said.  
  
He studied her a moment. "No, I think you know I'm right about what I said on the subject of you and your dad," he said.  
  
She glared at him. "Maybe you were, but let's just focus on stopping my insane father before anyone gets hurt," she said.  
  
"Hey, what are you guys doing out of your rooms!" Lara asked, as she came over to them. "You two get back to your beds right now before you get in trouble! And Evan, why are you wearing that costume?"  
  
Wanda was about to use her powers against the girl, but Evan stopped her.  
  
"Wanda, don't," he said. "Listen, Lara, there's something big happening. If we don't go help to stop it then everyone, including you and even that annoying Nurse Muriel, will be in huge danger."  
  
"What?" Lara said confused. "What are you-"  
  
"Look, why don't you just help us out of here and maybe I won't have to hurt you," Wanda threatened.  
  
"Don't worry, Wanda's all talk," Evan assured Lara. "But she's right, we can't get out of here without your help. We can't get passed the doctors and nurses that know us without you. Please, it's important that we get out of here right now."  
  
Lara looked at Wanda and then at Evan. "I know I'm going to regret this, but...come on, I know a way to get pass everyone without any problem."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"So, what do y'all t'ink o' my plan?" Remy inquired.  
  
"Well, as much as Ah hate t' say it-it's not bad," Rogue said with a smile at the Cajun.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure it will work, but in case it doesn't all of you know the backup plan involves everyone's cooperation," Xavier said. "Which means even though there are separate teams, all of us-Brotherhood and X-men-must work together and help each other if we are going to beat such a formidable foe."  
  
"And with Magneto controlling her he will probably attempt another discharge of a huge shockwave. Only this time we might not be able to evade it's power because Oblivion will have had time to build up to her optimum power point, which is even worse than what she did at the Delegates' Ball," Flare said.  
  
"Which means?" Kitty asked.  
  
"It means Oblivion can store enough energy to create a shockwave too immense for any form of avoidance from Kitty or Jean as before at the Delegates' Ball," Flare informed. "Magneto forcing her to use her powers to this level allows her to make shockwaves that can destroy all life within a fifty-mile radius of us with just one exerted wave. That's why she was codenamed Oblivion, because after one of her shockwaves is released oblivion is all that's left behind."  
  
"Well, den I guess we betta hope my plan works, no?" Remy said.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!! 


	25. Chapter 25: Sacrifice Pt 1

Thanx so much for the reviews! Oh, and Todd fan, don't worry this is not an Evan/Wanda fic so ya can put your inner Wandd at ease-LOL!  
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Chapter 25: Sacrifice Pt.1  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Thanks, Lara," Evan said as he, Lara and Wanda stood in the hospital parking lot. "You didn't have to help get us out of the hospital."  
  
"Yeah, and I still don't know why I helped you," Lara said.  
  
Evan kissed her on the cheek, "But I'm glad you did."  
  
Lara could only smile.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah...come on, loverboy," Wanda muttered mordantly, dragging Evan away by his arm.  
  
He laughed as they began their walk to Times Square. "Don't be jealous, Wanda," he quipped.  
  
"Oh, I'll try not to since you're so irresistible," Wanda said sarcastically. "Don't make me gag."  
  
The hospital wasn't too far from Times Square, which was where the TV had shown Magneto and Oblivion were located. Though when they were nearly there by taking a shortcut through the park, a voice stopped both Wanda and Evan in their tracks.  
  
"Magneto's so busy with Oblivion he doesn't need us around and I was wondering when I'd run into some fun today," growled a voice.  
  
Evan and Wanda turned around to find Sabertooth. Then another mutant with blonde hair stepped into view along side the catlike mutant.  
  
"Yeah, and we're going to have some real fun with them, eh, mate?" Pyro said with a crazed grin.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The X-men and Brotherhood were still inside the warehouse with the exception of Pietro and Xavier, whom had gone outside to perform a plan against Magneto.  
  
"Do you think Remy's idea vill vork?" Kurt asked as he leaned against a dusty wall of the warehouse.  
  
Rogue stood before her brother. "Ah'm prayin' it will," she said. "If the professor can disable Magneto an' his control over Oblivion then maybe we won't have t' stop her by destroyin' her."  
  
"Ja, because I don't think Flare or Logan could handle it if ve had to stop Oblivion by..." Kurt's voice trailed off as he looked across the room. He watched as Flare and Logan were sitting in a couple of old, rusted steel chairs; both their faces were grim and grief-stricken.  
  
"Killin' her," Rogue said quietly, finishing her brother's statement.  
  
"Rogue," came a Cajun voice.  
  
She spun around at the sound of her name to see Remy. He took her gloved hands into his and gazed at her through his glowing red eyes. She felt her heartbeat speed up as she tried desperately to evade meeting his stare. *Ah should tell him. Why can't Ah jus' say it?! If Ah can't even force the words outta mah mouth then does that mean tha feelings aren't true? Do Ah love him? O' course. But Ah can't touch. Ah shouldn't burden him with mah problems no matter what Ah'm feelin'. * She sighed in exhaustion of the bemusing feelings and thoughts rushing through her mind.  
  
Remy wanted to talk to Rogue about where their relationship stood, but as he was about to speak, his mouth closed and no sound escaped; he decided now wasn't the time to be concerned with personal issues while they all were possibly on the brink of death if Oblivion was able to send out a large enough shockwave.  
  
He looked at Rogue a moment without speaking. He seemed to somehow have a sense of her miscellaneous confused thoughts and emotions, so he flashed her a comforting smile and leaned down to her ear. " S'okay, chèrie. I know y' afraid o' what's between us, so y' don' gotta say anyt'ing now, only when y' ready," he whispered. He slowly backed away from her, noting a slight flush in her cheeks.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Well, finally arrived, have you?" Magneto said as Xavier came toward him. "Now don't come too close, Charles, I'm sure you don't want this young girl to release a shockwave, do you?"  
  
"Of course I don't, it would cause more people in this area their lives, and that's the last thing I want here today," Xavier said.  
  
"And you've come to stop me I assume," Magneto said. "But I'll give you one last chance. Join me, my brother mutant, I do not wish to harm anyone who is a mutant like myself."  
  
"What about those who are not?"  
  
"Who? Humans? Charles, you misconstrue me. I don't want to hurt anyone at all, but I know nothing will change unless I force it to and the only way to make things change in a human-dominated world is by force...and sacrifice," Magneto said.  
  
"Sacrifice?" Xavier repeated and looked beyond the man in front of him and at Oblivion. "What exactly are the shackles doing to her?"  
  
"Unfortunately, my creations-the shackles and the Governor-aren't a perfect means of control over her. The side effect of using them to control Oblivion is steadily killing her, but her death will birth the Era of Magnus, the first period of true peace for mutants worldwide."  
  
"You plan to sacrifice her life for this madness!" Xavier exclaimed.  
  
"Indeed."  
  
Xavier sighed, "Then I'm afraid I must stop you, old friend-Pietro, now!"  
  
Suddenly, a gust of wind flew passed Magneto and he realized his red and mauve telepathy-blocking helmet was gone. Xavier entered Magneto's mind and tried to immobilize him.  
  
Pietro threw Magneto's helmet to Todd. "Hold onto that," the speedy, silver haired boy told his friend.  
  
Quicksilver zipped over to Oblivion who was still hovering high in the air as if she was in a trance.  
  
"Julia, can you hear me?" he asked. "Listen, fight whatever hold Magneto's trying to keep on you! You've got to fight him, or a lot of people are going to die!"  
  
"Pietro..." Oblivion said, as if awaking from a long slumber. Her eyes returned to their normal sparkling amber, as she hovered above him.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Sabertooth gripped Evan by his neck and spikes instinctively sprang from his back and shoulders.  
  
"Lets see how long it'll take to pluck all those toothpicks out of you one by one," the catlike mutant said with a grin of malevolence and began yanking a spike out of Evan's shoulder. Evan felt intense pain radiating throughout him and he cried out as the spike was slowly being ripped from him.  
  
Wanda would've helped Evan, but she was occupied with Pyro. A flaming lion figure launched from the blond mutant's flamethrowers and was chasing Wanda over the grassy park, as people fled in fear in all sorts of directions; all the while, Pyro was laughing hysterically at the mayhem.  
  
Suddenly, the lion diminished until it completely disappeared. Wanda turned around to look at Pyro and saw he and someone were in a struggle on the ground. Pyro's opponent was a tall, large man, who was evidently a mutant since his entire body was covered in what appeared to be metal.  
  
The metal-covered mutant held Pyro down on the ground. Pyro tried to spray fire on the mutant's face, but the mutant held Pyro's flamethrower directly at Sabertooth, cloaking the catlike mutant in flames.  
  
Sabertooth roared as the flames spread over him, he tumbled and rolled across the grass, desperately trying to put the fire out. The mutant tore Pyro's fuel pack from his back, and crushed it with his metal hands. Pyro, who was now defenseless without fire to control, grabbed a no longer burning, but rather charred Sabertooth and quickly fled.  
  
Evan stood up, his spikes retracted, but the place on his arm where Sabertooth had almost succeeded in pulling out a spike was bleeding slightly.  
  
"Are you all right?" the mutant asked.  
  
Evan nodded, "I'll be fine. I was just lucky you got here before Sabertooth took the spike out completely, then I would have been in trouble. Thanks, man."  
  
"Yeah, thanks," Wanda added. "Wait, don't I know you?"  
  
The mutant's skin was returning to its normal human texture and shade. "Yes, I used to work for Magneto. I'm called Colossus, but you may call me Piotr since we're on the same side now."  
  
"Same side?" Wanda repeated.  
  
"Da, aren't you an X-man?" Piotr queried, looking to Evan, who nodded to confirm. "And you're Magneto's daughter Wanda-you want to destroy him as well, don't you?"  
  
Wanda nodded.  
  
"Well, I've also come back here from Russia to help a friend of mine. Do either of you know a mutant called Gambit?" Piotr asked.  
  
"Yeah, he's the guy that Xavier recruited not too long ago," Evan said. He paused. "Well, as much as we'd love to chat more, we've got to go. If want to help against Magneto, come with us."  
  
Piotr nodded and the three of them continued heading to Times Square.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
***Let her go, Erik, Xavier said; he was in a plain, metal room that was tucked away in Magneto's mind.  
  
You can't stop me this time, Charles. The Governor allows me to have more than enough of a connection to her brainwaves, and I can control her even as you have me locked in here, Magneto said.  
  
I'm sorry, old friend, but this has to end, Xavier said and sent a paralyzing mental blast to the magnetic master.***  
  
Magneto physically fell to his knees outside of his mind as he fought every mental blast the telepath strongly transmitted to him.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Pietro?" Oblivion repeated.  
  
"Yeah, Jules, it's me," he replied.  
  
"Help me," she said; her voice was shaky and frightened, as if she were a lost child. "Magneto trying to force me to use my powers this way is killing me, and I don't think I can fight his control much longer."  
  
"I'll help you, I promise," Pietro said, but sadness was in his voice. "Storm!"  
  
Storm quickly flew down toward Pietro and struck the girl beside him with lighting. Oblivion screamed and fell on the ground from the place she had been suspended.  
  
Pietro bent down to one knee beside her. "I'm sorry, Jules, but if we didn't put you into unconsciousness then Magneto would've had a chance of using you again," he whispered to her. Nightcrawler teleported from the warehouse and in moments was crouched down beside Pietro, Strom and Oblivion.  
  
"Transport Oblivion inside the warehouse, we don't know if Charles has disabled Magneto yet," Storm said to the fuzzy, blue boy.  
  
Kurt nodded and put one of Oblivion's arms around his shoulder.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
***Magneto began laughing as his nose started to trickle with blood from Xavier's countless mental attacks.  
  
"You have truly gone mad, haven't you?" Xavier said disbelievingly.  
  
Magneto's laughter increased at Xavier's comment. "You're right, this has to end, though it might not be the way you want," he said.  
  
Xavier stared at him slightly confused and suddenly felt a huge mental shock force him out of Magneto's mind. ***  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Magneto glared at Xavier, as they were both returned to reality.  
  
"You see, Charles, I had been preparing for this day. I knew you would try something of that nature and I had trained myself enough over the years to at least force you out of my mind if ever necessary," Magneto explained and willed his metal helmet to pry from Todd's hands and return atop his head.  
  
Oblivion's eyes shot open and were once again filled with a golden light. She pitched a shockwave from her palm that was aimed at the mutants around her, whom were Nightcrawler, Quicksilver and Storm. The severe, sting-like pain of an emaciated, sapphire wave swept through the three mutants and they were thrust away from Oblivion, their bodies slamming into the walls of buildings and skyscrapers around them.  
  
"Oh mah god! Kurt!" Rogue yelled as she watched in horror from a window of the warehouse; she quickly went outside and ran over to her brother.  
  
Lance and Kitty went outside as well, to help Pietro and Storm into the shelter of the warehouse. Rogue followed with Kurt, who was inactive in her arms and Xavier was right beside her.  
  
"Are both of you all right?" Xavier asked, looking at the two fairly injured mutants, who were leaning against a wall in the warehouse.  
  
Storm and Pietro nodded at the professor to verify they were not too badly harmed.  
  
"What about Kurt?" Xavier queried worriedly as he looked at Flare, who was checking Nightcrawler's neck for a pulse.  
  
Flare studied the blue boy. "I think he'll be fine. He's just going to be unconscious awhile," she replied.  
  
"Thank goodness," Rogue muttered, feeling a light rush of relief.  
  
"So, now what are we going to do?" Fred asked.  
  
"Yeah, obviously trying to cut off Magneto's control over Oblivion didn't work, so now what, yo?" Todd queried.  
  
"Looks like we're going to plan B," Lance responded.  
  
"No! We have to think of something else!" Mystique exclaimed.  
  
"Look, it's no big deal," Rogue calmly told Mystique. "All Ah'm gonna do is absorb Oblivion, simple as that."  
  
"I don' know, chèrie," Remy said apprehensively. "De blue lady might be right-somet'ing jus' don' feel right 'bout y' goin' out dere an' absorbin' Oblivion."  
  
"Rogue, I know for a fact that if you go out there you will die. Irene already envisioned it, she told me you were the key to stopping Oblivion, and you would die if you absorbed her," Mystique said.  
  
There was a moment of deathly silence as the thought of Rogue dying settled into each of the mutants' minds.  
  
"Maybe you shouldn't go," Kitty said to Rogue. She paused. "None of us, like, want you to die."  
  
***  
  
Professor, can you here me?  
  
"Evan?" Xavier said suddenly.  
  
The mutants stared at the professor peculiarly.  
  
"What is it, Chuck?" Logan asked, lifting an eyebrow.  
  
"It's Evan," Xavier replied.  
  
"Evan? He's still at the hospital, isn't he?" Scott asked.  
  
Xavier was silent as he spoke through thoughts to Evan, giving him their location. In moments, Evan, Wanda and Piotr burst through the warehouse door.  
  
"Daniels!" Pietro exclaimed.  
  
"Maximoff! What's HE doing here?" Evan yelled as Wanda looked fiercely at Pietro.  
  
"Pietro and the rest of the Brotherhood are helping us against Magneto," Jean explained.  
  
"And aren't you supposed to be at the hospital, Evan? And why is Wanda with you? And who is that, like, guy behind you?" Kitty asked so quickly that her speaking speed was comparable to Pietro's when he ran.  
  
"Whoa, slow down, Kitty," Evan said. "Listen, this is Colossus and it's a long story how we got here, so why doesn't someone explain what's going on."  
  
"Cajun, you've managed to get into this mess too, uh?" Piotr asked.  
  
"Oui, y' know me, can't keep myself out o' t'ings," Remy said with a sly grin.  
  
"Anyone got any ideas on how to stop Oblivion?" Evan asked.  
  
"Well, we already tried one plan, but that backfired. We do have a backup plan though," Pietro said.  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's use the backup plan," Evan said pointedly.  
  
"We were just discussing that. But the problem with that plan is it could get Rogue killed," Lance informed.  
  
"What's wrong with that?" Wanda muttered.  
  
The group of young mutants shot Wanda strong glares.  
  
"What? If she has to sacrifice herself so we can live I think she should do it," Wanda said, scowling back at the mutants around her. "I'm right and all of you here know it even though you don't want to admit it."  
  
"As much as Ah hate it, Wanda's right," Rogue said. "One life is nothin' compared t' savin' thousands. Ah've gotta do this."  
  
"Well, whatever we're doing we'd better hurry. Oblivion's preparing to release a shockwave, and a huge one at that," Flare said as she peered outside through a soiled window of the warehouse. "Time's running out."  
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A/N: Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. The next chap, which (with a bit of luck) will be uploaded soon, is when this story is finally going to get into Rogue's destiny, along with some real action (I hope)! So, keep reading and PLEASE REVIEW!!! Cam:. Chao! 


	26. Chapter 26: Sacrifice Pt 2

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Chapter 26: Sacrifice Pt.2  
  
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"Thank you, Dr. McCoy," Irene said as the bulky, blue and furry man handed her a glass of iced tea. She was seated on the couch in the living room of Xavier's mansion.  
  
"You're welcome," Hank said, sitting down beside her. "You know, your mutant ability I find most interesting. Exactly how is it you see the future?"  
  
She smiled. "You sound as if you think I always have perfectly distinct visions, when in fact I can have the opposite," she said. "Sometimes all I see are images, or flashes. It's like only seeing pieces of the puzzle. And sometimes I can see events clearly and even if they have alternate futures."  
  
"Astonishing," he remarked. "How amazing to not be able to physically see, yet have the sight beyond the realm of normal human senses."  
  
As Irene was about to sip from her glass of ice tea her hand froze only inches away from her mouth. Then she abruptly released the glass as images clouded her mind. She instinctively stared down at the sound of the glass shattering as it met the floor. Though she was blind, she 'saw' an image of the floor with broken glass and something that wasn't normal ice tea was spilled over it. No, it was tea, but it was red. But what did red tea mean? Then suddenly she knew. Blood. The crimson tea denoted blood and it was stained over the carpet. She saw Rogue struggling in battle with another mutant, as were the X-men and Brotherhood with Magneto's minions. Suddenly, there was a brilliant azure light, as her mind drew out of vision, and she was blind again.  
  
"Are you all right, Irene?" he asked concerned.  
  
She put a hand to her forehead. "I'm fine. I just had a vision," she replied.  
  
"What about?"  
  
She swallowed hard in her throat, "It was about a battle that I've known was inexorable to come, as well as Rogue's destiny. I also felt death. And there's more than one death, there will be two at once."  
  
"Are you sure?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, and there is no way to stop it," she said.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Logan sat quietly in a tarnished, metal chair next to Flare in the warehouse. He watched the X-men and Brotherhood continue to argue with Rogue about the destiny Irene had predicted and about how to stop Oblivion. Logan grimaced; he was not participating in the debate with the other mutants because he wasn't sure what should be done. He hated the thought of Rogue dying. Rogue had always been like an adopted daughter to him, and he would be inconsolable if she died, but even more so if she had to kill Oblivion to bring Magneto's plans to an end.  
  
Rogue was one of the people he was truly close to, with the exception of Flare and a few others. Oblivion was his daughter, his flesh and blood. He was torn between Oblivion and Rogue; he didn't want either of them to die, so he decided to be neutral and leave the choice up to Rogue of whether she would absorb Oblivion or not. Flare appeared to feel the same as Logan, she had grown quite attached to Rogue as well in her time living with the X- men, but Oblivion was still her daughter.  
  
Mystique was sitting on an old, dusty couch across from Logan and was holding Kurt, who was still unconscious, in her arms. She looked down at her only son, her heart heavy with remorse.  
  
Rogue stormed over to the blue-skinned woman. "Get away from him!" she yelled. "Ya have no right t' be near him!"  
  
"Rogue, you won't believe me, but for all the pain I've caused you and Kurt I'm sorry," Mystique said sincerely.  
  
Though the gothic girl wasn't feeling sympathy toward the only mother she'd ever known; she was raged. "Oh, now ya decide t' be our mama? After all ya have don' t' us, Ah don' want ya t' be our mother! An' neither does Kurt!" Rogue yelled begrudgingly.  
  
Tears threatened to fall from Mystique's eyes as she saw the acrimony in her daughter's voice and expressions.  
  
"Please, Rogue, believe that I am honestly sorry," Mystique said. "There hasn't been a day that goes by that I don't regret how I've treated you and your brother."  
  
Finally, tears began to slowly slide down Mystique's cheeks, "And even though you don't think I care, I do, and the fact that you hate me tears me apart."  
  
Rogue found herself embracing her mother for the first time since she was a child. "Ah don' hate ya," Rogue said as she hugged her. Perhaps Rogue had softened a bit because she'd seen Mystique cry for the first time, or felt for once her mother was being truthful. Maybe Mystique really did love Rogue and Kurt and it took these extreme circumstances for her to admit it.  
  
"Sorry to break up this touching moment, but when did Sabertooth and Pyro get here, yo?" Todd asked as he stared out of a warehouse window.  
  
"What?" Wanda said and looked outside. "I thought we had fought them off already!"  
  
Evan stared through the window as well, "Looks like Pyro got a new fuel pack on his back and Sabertooth is-"  
  
"Burnt to a crisp, yo! What happened to ole Toothy?!" Todd said laughing.  
  
"Magneto must have wanted them here as body guards after what happened with our first plan," Scott said, ignoring Todd.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
I won't do this! Oblivion declared, as deep in her mind she continued trying to resist Magneto's control.  
  
As I've said before you DON'T have an option! Magneto told her, speaking his harshly toned words into her mind. You will wipe out those pathetic humans with a single and final shockwave.  
  
But you don't understand, my powers don't work that way! she protested. If you make me create a shockwave that huge I could kill every-  
  
Human, he supplied. Stop fighting me, Oblivion. What will be done today is my destiny and you can't stop that, my dear. You cannot stop something that is destined.  
  
Magneto left her mind and retreated back into his own.  
  
He looked at Pyro and Sabertooth, who were defensively at his side. "Both of you ensure that those pesky X-men and Brotherhood boys do not intervene again," the master of magnetism told them.  
  
Magneto's remaining two minions nodded obediently in response.  
  
Magneto turned around and stared directly into Oblivion's emotionless, gold- filled eyes as she hovered just above him. Then the ground shook, cracking the street pavement, and a sudden wind-the same feathery breeze that had accompanied her other large shockwave at the Delegates' Ball-blew her blond and red-strained hair about her face.  
  
*Now, it will begin, * Magneto thought.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"You hear that?" Logan asked suddenly.  
  
The mutants listened attentively. There was a creaking sound, as if something were blowing against the aged, rotating wood of the warehouse. Then the floor began to tremble.  
  
"It's started," Flare said. "She's using her stored energy to create a shockwave now."  
  
Rogue went to the door and Remy grasped her gloved hand.  
  
"Don't, chèrie," he said, his crimson on black eyes pleading desperately. Two simple words he had spoken, but they held so much emotion Rogue nearly cried. She pulled her hand away.  
  
"Y'all know what has t' be done. If Ah die then it'll at least be for good reason," Rogue said. "Now, Ah'm goin' out there t' put a stop t' this. Y'all keep Magneto an' his lackeys busy while Ah go after Oblivion."  
  
She looked around the room. The mutants surrounding her all seemed to understand; they knew there was no time left to dispute about what should be done and what shouldn't. Rogue had made her choice and all that was left was to follow through with it.  
  
She looked to her mother Mystique, and her unconscious brother Kurt. Then she stared at the X-men, they were her friends, her family; even the Brotherhood boys were still family to her after she'd left their team. She would do this for all of them. She would sacrifice herself for them because to her, they were worth it.  
  
Suddenly, she grabbed Remy and embraced him, though she hated that holding him she had to hold him cautiously, making sure their skin didn't touch.  
  
"Thank ya, Remy. Ya've done more for me, helped me an' given me more than ya will ever know," she whispered into his ear, then pulled away. "Let's get started, we don't have a lot o' time."  
  
Scott nodded in agreement to Rogue. "All right, we're going to split up into groups," he said. "Toad, Wanda, Quicksilver, Blob and Gambit-you guys go after Pyro. Storm, Avalanche, Spike, Shadowcat and Colossus-I want you to keep Sabertooth occupied, while me, Jean, Flare, Wolverine and Mystique try to break Magneto's control on Oblivion. Everyone got that?"  
  
The mutants all nodded to indicate they understood.  
  
"Rogue, are you sure you want to do this?" Kitty asked, still disbelieving what her friend was willing to do.  
  
"Ah'm sure," Rogue said. She glanced at Remy beside her, his eyes were heartbreakingly sad. *Ah hope ya know how much Ah care for ya, Cajun, an' Ah only wish Ah had the guts t' tell ya so mahself. *  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Someone tapped Pyro on his shoulder and he spun around to find no one there.  
  
"What the?" he muttered and as he turned around again a punch was delivered swiftly to his face. He fell onto the ground and looked up to find Quicksilver. "Oh, I've been looking forward to this, mate."  
  
Pyro's flamethrowers spewed fire at Pietro, who quickly avoided the flames with his incredible speed. Then, just as Pyro was about to strike again, he was lifted into the air and thrown backwards a couple of feet. Pietro looked beside him in near shock.  
  
"Wanda?!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Don't read too much into it," she cautioned. "I'm only helping you because of the situation. It doesn't mean I'm not still-"  
  
"LOOK OUT!!!" Pietro yelled and threw himself to the ground with his sister as a spray of flames from Pyro went over them. He helped her to stand up. "Look, we can argue later, let's just survive this first."  
  
She nodded in agreement. "I guess you're right...for once," Wanda said. She suddenly felt something wet and slick coil around her ankle, quickly dragging her aside as fire surged from Pyro's flamethrowers that had been aimed at Wanda's back while she had been talking to Pietro. She looked down at her ankle to see a toad-like tongue was what had pulled her out of the path of Pyro's flames. She kicked Todd away from her leg. "Get off me, Toad!"  
  
Todd sucked his long tongue back into his mouth. "I had to save you, Wanda. I just couldn't let Pyro burn my little sweetheart," he said smirking.  
  
Wanda glared at him, "You disgusting little-"  
  
"Get back!" Gambit yelled; he, Blob and Toad were with them since the mutants had already gotten into the groups Scott had divided them into before. Xavier was still in the warehouse, watching over Kurt, who was causing much concern since he still hadn't awakened.  
  
Gambit threw three charged cards at Pyro. Badly bruised, but not defeated by Gambit's assault, Pyro laughed feverishly as he formed blazing lions to chase after his opponents. One of the lions nearly caught up with Todd until he was lifted into the air and Blob tried to tackle Pyro to stop the source of the fiery beasts. Todd looked below him to see Wanda had used her powers holding him in the air to evade one of the flaming lions.  
  
"Thanks, sweetheart," Todd said and she abruptly released her powers hold on him. He fell to the ground with a loud thump. "She wants me."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Evan shot two spikes from his arms, which were aimed at Sabertooth. The catlike mutant ducked and the spikes hit against the wall of a building behind him.  
  
Sabertooth lifted Spike over him and all of a sudden he felt the ground rip from beneath him, as if a rug were being pulled from under his feet, causing him to fall over. Avalanche grabbed Evan's hand, helping him up.  
  
"You can thank me later," Lance said.  
  
Spike half smiled, but his smile quickly faded as he felt a strong hand grip his neck. Sabertooth's other hand wrapped tightly around Avalanche's neck and he lifted both mutants up in the air with ease. Evan and Lance were struggling to breathe in the catlike mutant's grasp, both boys' eyesight were becoming hazy, slowly darkening.  
  
Colossus rushed his metal-bound body into Sabertooth's back. Sabertooth fell to his knees, bending at the painful force his back had been assailed with, while Shadowcat took hold of Evan and Lance's arms; she made their necks phaze through Sabertooth's grip.  
  
Colossus rammed into Sabertooth again, and finally the catlike mutant fell over.  
  
"Are you all right?" Piotr asked, standing up.  
  
Lance and Evan nodded.  
  
"Behind you!" Shadowcat yelled and grabbed Colossus so he was able to phaze through as Sabertooth attempted to pounce on him.  
  
As Sabertooth was about to leap at them again, a bolt of lighting struck him. He fell to one knee and still tried to claw at the mutants. Storm threw another lighting bolt at him and he fell to the ground, unconscious at last.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Cyclops tried to fire his optic beam at Magneto, but the magnetic master dodged it. Magneto raised a car parked on the cement not far from them and made it collide with Cyclops.  
  
"Scott!" Jean yelled and rushed over to him. She used her telekinesis to lift the heavy vehicle off of him. She bent down next to him and saw some blood on his mouth, but he was still breathing. "Oh, Scott!" she cried and helped him up.  
  
"Wanda should have killed you when she had the chance!" Mystique said spitefully.  
  
Just as Mystique was about to send a strong kick to Magneto's chest, he ripped a nearby metal lamppost out of the ground and wrapped it around Mystique. She fell onto the cement; unable to free herself of the entanglement she was in with the streetlamp.  
  
"Release your control over my daughter or you're going to end up charred bones!" Flare threatened.  
  
Magneto only laughed, "Such spirit considering the circumstances, you should have been one of my recruits."  
  
Wolverine charged at Magneto, his claws tearing through the wind. Though as his claws were mere inches from the other man's face, he was instantaneously frozen in place. He couldn't move.  
  
"Now, Wolverine, do you think you are any match for me? The Adamantium that outlines your skeleton is still metal, and I am the master of metal, after all," Magneto said with a malicious grin.  
  
Wolverine was lifted into the air, his back to Flare. His arms were forced to spread out. He could feel Magneto pulling at all the metal in his body, and his claws felt as if they were attempting to rip from the surface of his hands. Blood slowly dripped from the tips of his claws, as Magneto made them extort further from his hands than they were ever designed to go. Logan tried not to scream out in pain, so he pursed his lips and made a strained grunting sound instead.  
  
"Stop it!" Flare yelled.  
  
The magnetic master burst into a cruel cackle at the sound Meg's pleas and the sight of Logan's pain.  
  
"Stop it damnit, you're killing him!" she screamed. Flare was enraged by Magneto's seeming amusement with the situation. Forming fireballs in both hands, Flare's eyes changed from golden brown to heated, fiery colored orbs, and she hurdled directly toward the magnetic master.  
  
"Meg, NO!" Wolverine yelled.  
  
"No, no, my dear," Magneto said mockingly, immediately forcing Wolverine to turn around in mid-air and slam against the reddish blond woman.  
  
Magneto released his power on Wolverine. Logan and Flare crashed to the ground, her flames absorbing back into her palms. Logan stared down at her and realized the claws that were extracted from his right hand were embedded on the far side of her abdomen; he had been forced to stab her when she'd tried to attack the magnetic master.  
  
Logan quickly retracted his claws. He pulled her into his lap as he sat on the concrete. "Oh, God," he murmured as he ripped a very large piece from the rim of her white tank top and pressed it against three bleeding claw marks. "Flare, why the hell did you try to save me? I could've healed, my mutation, remember? Why did you do something so stupid!?" His voice was stern, but she gazed into his eyes and saw them filled with tears.  
  
"I guess I wasn't thinking," she replied with a chuckle, but her voice was weak, as if speaking were a strain.  
  
"You never think," he said and a tear from his eyes fell on her face. "Damnit, Meg, you never think!"  
  
"I don't regret us. And I'll never regret you being Julia's father, I wouldn't have wanted it to be anyone else," she said with a faint smile and her eyes started to close.  
  
Logan shook her so her eyes opened again, "No! Open your eyes! You're not goin' to die on me!"  
  
Chuck! Help! Logan yelled.  
  
In moments, Xavier had come out of the warehouse and was headed over to Wolverine.  
  
"Please, Chuck, help her," Logan said and Xavier's eyes fell upon Flare.  
  
"Come on, let's get her out of this battlefield and into the warehouse," Xavier said. Logan nodded and he followed Xavier, carrying Flare to shelter.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
*Ah hope this works. * Rogue thought as she looked at Oblivion. She slid her glove off of her left hand.  
  
She leapt forward and attempted to touch Oblivion's face with her bare hand, but Magneto had already turned his attention from Wolverine and Flare to Rogue. Magneto made Oblivion fly skyward to escape from Rogue. The auburn haired girl with two white streaks smiled slightly; lucky for her she'd learned how to use her flight ability. She swiftly took off into the air, the wind quickly whisking over her body.  
  
Rogue stopped in the bright, sun-beaming noon sky after soaring through countless clouds. She looked around and realized she'd lost sight of Oblivion. *Where'd she go? * Rogue wondered. Suddenly, she felt a painful kick into her backside and fell forward a little before turning around to see her opponent. Oblivion delivered another kick to Rogue's chest and a punch to her jaw. She threw several more punches, but Rogue blocked them.  
  
"Ah don' want t' hurt ya. Oblivion, ya've gotta fight Magneto's control!" Rogue said. Although after staring into Oblivion's vacant, gold eyes Rogue knew she could not be reached.  
  
Rogue's gloved hand grabbed Oblivion's fist before it could strike her face. She twisted Oblivion's arm sharply aside, causing bones to fracture under the grip because of her abnormal strength. Rogue reached with her free, uncovered hand to touch Oblivion's face. A blinding, cerulean light began rising from all corners of Oblivion's body. Rogue would've thought of the light as beautiful if she hadn't felt a rush of agony as it swept through her body. The pain nearly made her want to release her hold on Oblivion, but she determinedly continued to force herself forward, pushing herself closer to the source of the shockwave; Rogue couldn't let the shockwave continue to expand or it would engulf all of New York along with surrounding cities, and if Flare's information was true, a shockwave of such vastness would cause numerous deaths.  
  
Finally, Rogue forced contact with Oblivion, her bare hand pressed against Oblivion's cheek, and they both screamed as the painful absorption took place; Rogue felt sick because somehow the act reminded her of what happened when she'd been forced to absorb Carol Danvers and that, in itself, was painful enough to just remember. Moments after their skin had met, Rogue didn't have her memories anymore, but Oblivion's as well.  
  
***Rogue was suddenly four years old, in a lab with a woman she recognized: Flare. Soldiers burst into the lab and grabbed Rogue while she screamed for them to free her. She cried, "Mommy! Let me go! I want my mommy!" Though the soldiers seemed to not hear her as they hauled Rogue away.  
  
"Mommy, don't let them take me! Don't leave me with them! Please!" the childlike version of Rogue yelled at Flare, though it wasn't Rogue's voice. Then Trask appeared with soldiers in the lab and took Flare in the opposite direction.  
  
"Julia!" Flare screamed as they took her away as well.  
  
"Mommy!" Rogue cried again, her eyes welling with tears.  
  
Abruptly, Rogue woke on a cold, metal table and was dressed in a thin, white body wrap. She felt scientists stabbing her body with needles and injecting her with strange, neon colored substances in a barely lit white room. Each of the needles felt like icy daggers piercing her skin.  
  
"We can't risk her escaping like she did in South America-put her in the aquatic camber," one of the scientists' said.  
  
Soldiers pulled her off the table and she was submerged into the water of a huge capsule made of metal and glass. The opening of the aquatic camber shut and Rogue held her breath in the water as she banged on the closed metal entrance, though she did so in vain, the camber was securely locked. She was trapped.  
  
Suddenly, a red substance was released into the water with her by one of the scientists, and soon she felt relaxed, her eyelids became intensely heavy and closed. *They've stolen my freedom and my mother, they've confined me in this camber-they're going to pay for this, all of them, * Rogue thought bitterly, as the crimson liquid that was mixing in the camber's water forced her eyes to only see empty obscurity. No, they were not Rogue's thoughts; they had been Oblivion's feelings from the past. ***  
  
*No, no! These aren't mah memories! Meg ain't mah mother! None o' this happened t' me! * Rogue thought, finally able to distinguish her thoughts and memories from the ones she was absorbing. Though now she felt something else, Oblivion's powers were flowing through her fingertips and it was almost too much to stand.  
  
"Too much-too much power!!!" Rogue yelled, as Oblivion's mutations became hers.  
  
Rogue's mouth was gaped, as if gasping for air. She felt as if she could barely breath. She knew something was wrong; when Rogue absorbed other people it had never been physically painful for her before, and she knew this time was much different, Oblivion's power was exceedingly more immense than she'd ever absorbed. Oblivion's powers were overwhelming and painful for Rogue to merely withhold in her own body. Rogue could feel an eerie coldness in her now, as did Oblivion, and both their visions began to fade into darkness.  
  
Rogue's hand fell limply away from Oblivion's face and as she did, both of them descended from their suspended places in the sky. The two girls fell, plummeting until their bodies encountered the ground.  
  
Suddenly, there was silence. The wind had stopped, as had the quivering of the ground that were the warning signs of one of Oblivion's shockwaves. All of the mutants-the X-men, the Brotherhood, even Pyro and Sabertooth-had stopped their fighting and were now staring at the two young girls that lay inertly on the ground.  
  
Magneto's plan had been destroyed and all his control over Oblivion was gone because now, so was her life. Rogue was the key to stopping Oblivion, to halting the destruction of life that could have occurred, and as Destiny had predicted she was no longer breathing as well.  
  
Mystique was the first to rush over to Rogue and Flare would have followed, but Logan was holding her back by her waste.  
  
"Let me go!" Flare screamed at him, tears threatening to spring from her eyes.  
  
"Meg, no!" he persisted and held her tighter. She was still injured in her side and he knew it could worsen if she tried to run.  
  
"She's our daughter!" she yelled and finally he released her. Tears began clouding Logan's eyes as well as he saw both young girls-Oblivion, whom was his child and Rogue, whom he considered a daughter-laying lifeless on the pavement.  
  
The wound Wolverine had given Flare in her abdomen was terribly painful, but she didn't care because she only knew she had to get to Julia. She stumbled, nearly falling with each aching step, as she quickly went to her daughter, not far behind Mystique.  
  
Raven gathered her daughter, Rogue, into her arms, as did Meg with her own. Both women held their young girls close to them, as they released tears. The two women moaned painfully and tears violently emerged, as they sobbed a heartbreaking lament that only mothers' could know for their departed daughters'.  
  
Xavier stood out from the crowd of mutants, he somehow sensed a change on the battlefield, so he'd left the safety of the warehouse to find the battle had ended, but was horrified to find as well Rogue and Oblivion lying on the concrete; their blood spilled over the ground as Irene had envisioned the crimson tea was against the floor.  
  
"My god, Erik," Xavier said, as he looked at Magneto, but his voice drew as a horsed whisper from shock. "What have you done!" 


	27. Chapter 27: Revived

To all who sent such lovely reviews and e-mails, I just wanted to say THANK YOU!!!  
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Chapter 27: Revived  
  
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The X-men, Brotherhood, Magneto, Pyro, Sabertooth, Wanda and Mystique were all still standing there in silence, staring in disbelief and astonishment at Rogue and Oblivion, who lied lifeless on the black paved ground; the setting sun placing a faint golden glow on the pale faces of the two girls.  
  
"Look at what you've done!" Xavier yelled at Magneto.  
  
"What I've done!" Magneto exclaimed, glaring at the telepath for his accusation.  
  
"They died to save us from your madness!" Xavier said angrily.  
  
"They wouldn't have died if you hadn't interfered, Charles!" Magneto retorted. "If anyone is at fault here, it's you!"  
  
"No! You caused this, you bastard!" Flare screamed at Magneto, her eyes like blazing coals. She gently laid her daughter down and stood up, as did Raven with Rogue.  
  
Flare formed fireballs in her hands as she and Mystique began closing in on Magneto. Suddenly, police sirens could be heard far in the distance, steadily nearing the mutants. Magneto looked to Sabertooth and Pyro and they quickly fled. The X-men and Brotherhood were about to chase after Magneto and his minions when Xavier stopped them.  
  
"No, let them go, enough blood has been shed here today," Xavier said, trying to placate Mystique and Flare's visible, vengeful anger.  
  
"You're just going to let them get away with that!" Wanda yelled surprised.  
  
"For once, I agree with the witch," Mystique said. "We should hunt them down and-"  
  
"No!" Xavier said sternly, but then his voice became low, saddened. "We should go home and allow you and Flare to mourn, Mystique. Now is not the time for anymore fighting."  
  
Flare reluctantly absorbed her fireballs back into her hands and her eyes hazed a moment as she nearly fell into unconsciousness. Logan quickly gripped her waste before she could fall. "You okay, darlin'?" he asked.  
  
"I shouldn't have tried to use my powers. I think it made my wound worse," Flare muttered. She turned away from Logan to look at Oblivion and Rogue. "It should have been me, I should have been the one to go after Oblivion. We should have never let Rogue stop her."  
  
The sirens grew louder, more audible as their source became closer.  
  
"Chèrie?" Remy chocked out, speaking for the first time since everything that had happened. He raced over to Rogue before anyone could stop him. He knelt beside Rogue's body and began shaking her.  
  
"What are you doing! Stop it!" Mystique screamed and was about to force Remy away from her daughter when she felt three fuzzy fingers on her shoulder. She spun around to find that Kurt had come out of the warehouse, now awake from his unconscious state. She hugged him. "Kurt, I'm so glad you're all right!"  
  
Kurt looked at his mother oddly. *Did she veally just hug me? * he thought confused with Mystique's uncharacteristic behavior. "I'm fine, but vhere's Rogue?" he asked. He followed Mystique's gaze to where Rogue and Oblivion lay.  
  
"I saw her move!" Remy declared, his voice holding complete certainty. He continued shaking Rogue's motionless body, as if the quavering would force her to wake from some deep slumber. "Rogue! Rogue!" After a few moments, he stopped; his gloved fingers trembled as they brushed across her face and realization slowly set in. *She can't be dead! * his mind had screamed earlier, but now he saw clearly through his glowing crimson eyes the reality before him. Tears began to silently fall on Rogue's cheek from his eyes.  
  
A gloved hand reached up and carefully caressed his tear-damp face. Remy looked down in shock as he found that it was Rogue's hand.  
  
"Sacre blu! Y' alive, ma chèrie! Y' truly alive!" he said happily. He helped her as she shakily stood up and embraced her tightly.  
  
She pulled away from his grasp and stared at him strangely. "Remy, are ya insane? O' course, Ah'm alive!" She pressed her hand against her throbbing forehead. "Ah'm alive, but mah head is killin' me!"  
  
"It should, you fell, like, thousands of stories out of the sky!" Kitty exclaimed.  
  
"What?" Rogue said confused.  
  
"Julia!" Flare yelled, as the girl with blond and red-stranded hair stood up from the ground. Flare ran over to her daughter and hugged her.  
  
"But this doesn't make any sense. How are they alive, Professor?" Scott asked puzzled.  
  
"Yeah, they died, didn't they?" Pietro said.  
  
"Well, to be honest I don't understand how they survived anymore than any of you," Xavier said, perplexed as well.  
  
"We should get them home to be sure they're really all right," Storm suggested.  
  
"Yes, we should," agreed Xavier.  
  
Suddenly, the sirens were clearly heard. The police sirens wailed from atop black cars, instead of the traditional blue and white vehicles, as pulled up onto the concrete with screeching halts.  
  
"Why are the police coming now? After all that's happened?" Jean wondered.  
  
"Damn," Flare muttered. *They aren't the police. *  
  
Out of one of the sleek, black cars came Trask accompanied by a special group of soldiers in black uniforms with their guns strapped over their shoulders, serving as open warnings for others to keep their distance.  
  
"Report," Trask ordered as he strode up to Flare.  
  
Flare did not answer.  
  
"I want your report now, agent!" he said firmly and with little patience.  
  
Then he noticed Julia standing next to Flare. "Oblivion is alive?" Trask asked shocked. "How did you manage to stop her without killing her, Flare?"  
  
Still, Flare was silent. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know how Oblivion and Rogue had survived herself.  
  
"Fine, have it the hard way then," Trask told her coldly and gestured to the soldiers that had come with him.  
  
A few of the black-outfitted men grabbed Flare, held her down against the top of one of their cars and handcuffed her. She didn't fight back, too many people were around that she cared about; she couldn't risk Trask ordering the soldiers to shoot or harm any of her friends and family. The other soldiers took hold of Oblivion, cuffing her above Magneto's shackles that were still securely around her wrists.  
  
Wolverine's claws extracted. He had lost Flare and a daughter he had never gotten to know once from these people, he wasn't going to allow it to happen again. He attempted to charge forward and attack the soldiers before they could take Oblivion and Flare away, but Xavier stopped him.  
  
"Logan, no!" Xavier said.  
  
Wolverine turned around and sent the telepathic a furious glare.  
  
"You're gonna just let those people take them!" Logan exclaimed.  
  
The soldiers shoved Flare and her daughter into the back seat of one of their cars.  
  
"Hey, Wolvie's right! We should be stopping them, yo!" Todd said.  
  
"No, there has been enough violence," Xavier protested.  
  
"You should listen to your mentor," Trask said, overhearing the argument. "Do not be alarmed, we are merely going to interrogate them for what has went on here today. Part of my own job requires that I give full and extensive reports to my superior about any occurrences connected with Embros and Area 51. And I can't do my job if Flare doesn't explain what's happened here. Don't worry, I'll let her and Oblivion go by tomorrow."  
  
Logan glared at Trask suspiciously, "You hurt either of them-"  
  
"Trust me," Trask said. "It will be a routine interrogation and I thank all of you for cooperating and not attacking us for doing our job. This is, after all, a government matter now."  
  
And with that said, Trask and his soldiers piled into their vehicles. Their black cars swiftly slid across the pavement as they departed from Times Square.  
  
"I don't think I like those guys," Kitty muttered.  
  
"Me either," Pietro agreed.  
  
"Yeah, remind me why we let them go again," Logan said.  
  
"Because it would have been more difficult to have attacked them in the open with them expecting it and being prepared," Xavier replied. "Besides, Flare told me through her thoughts, while she was being taken, she would call on me if she needs our help while she and Julia are in Embros. Now, let's go home, I think we all need to recuperate."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Charles, I have done numerous tests-all of which are conclusive, and all of which result exactly same," Hank said, as his eyes read over a paper displaying Rogue's examination results. "According to my tests Rogue is absolutely in good health."  
  
Dr. McCoy, Xavier and Rogue were in the infirmary, not long after returning home. Kitty was there as well, for Rogue's 'emotional-support', as she'd called it. Though Kitty was actually with her friend as an attempt to grasp reality; she still was stunned that the same girl she'd seen plastered with blood had moments later revived from an assumed death.  
  
"Good health!" Kitty exclaimed at Hank. "She literally died! How do you explain her body, like, slamming to the concrete and now she's just walking around without a scratch on her!"  
  
"Yeah," agreed Rogue, equally confused. "Ah mean, all Ah remember about earlier today was absorbin' Oblivion an' everyt'ing that happened is jus' blank in mah mind till after Ah woke up an' saw Remy."  
  
"To be quite frank, I do not know how, but I do intend to find out," Hank said, knowing he'd spend most of the night in his lab searching for any scientific explanation of Oblivion and Rogue's miraculous survival.  
  
"Indeed," Xavier said to Dr. McCoy and then looked to Rogue and Kitty. "It's been a long day, perhaps the two of you should join the others in preparing for bed."  
  
The two girls nodded in agreement and left the infirmary to head upstairs to their rooms.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Well, have you broken her yet?" Trask asked a young soldier as he entered the unfurnished, faintly lighted interrogation room of Embros.  
  
"No, sir," answered the soldier, an ebony colored man of no older than twenty-two. "We've been at her for an hour now, and she won't say a word."  
  
Trask stared harshly at the reddish blond woman seated in a cold, metal chair with her wrist and ankles cuffed; a group of soldiers were surrounding her, who all had been beating her as forceful attempts for information.  
  
"Get out," Trask told them.  
  
"Sir?" the soldier he'd been speaking to asked, maybe he wasn't hearing his superior correctly. "Sir, she's highly skilled, it's against safety regulations to just leave you in here alone with-"  
  
"I SAID get out, and that's an order!" Trask commanded.  
  
The young man didn't protest any longer, he simply did as he was told, leaving the room with the other soldiers following.  
  
The door closed behind them and Trask bent his head down to be eyelevel with the mutant woman.  
  
"Now, unless you want to be beaten to death you had better start being more cooperative, Flare," he said, glaring chillingly straight into her eyes.  
  
She smiled weakly, a fresh cut on her cheek revealing itself. Although, Embros physicians had already tended to the claw marks Logan had given her the moment she'd gotten there. The claw marks were deep enough to have killed her, had she not been given the needed medical attention; the way Trask saw it, she couldn't be interrogated if she was dead.  
  
She looked at him, "Do you think I'm stupid?"  
  
"What?" he asked confused.  
  
"You must think I'm a fool to not have realized by now what's been going on!" Flare said, but her voice was low, exhausted and nearly breathless from her beating a few moments before. "It was obvious really, it's a wonder I didn't see it sooner-the reason you refused to send Julia to an orphanage and kept her at Embros, the way you chose me out of all the other Embros' trackers to hunt Oblivion down when she was kidnapped, and how surprised you seemed when you found she had been stopped without me having to kill her."  
  
"What exactly are you insinuating?" he questioned.  
  
"When you first found out about my being pregnant with Julia you wouldn't send her to an adoptive family because you knew with both her parents being mutants there was a possibility of her being extremely powerful," she said. "But in South America, when she had escaped the first time and caused so much damage, your superiors got a bit skeptical about how safe it would be to have such a powerful weapon around."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Oh, don't deny it now, Trask, you see I've figured it all out. The people that fund Embros decided that Oblivion could cause a huge disaster if she ever got into the wrong hands, so they ordered her terminated. But no one expected for her to get kidnapped, so when Mystique and Wanda took her what better person to send after Oblivion than her own mother?" Flare said. "And you knew now that Oblivion was older and her powers had evolved some that I wouldn't be able to stop her without killing her myself! It was perfect because you wouldn't have to worry about terminating Oblivion, I would be doing it for you and I would be thinking it was the only way to save millions of lives."  
  
"Very interesting deduction," he said with a snakelike grin. "Ah, but you're only half right-yes, all of what you said is true, but not only were my superiors afraid of Oblivion falling into the hands of the wrong person, money was also involved. You see, the only means we had of restraining Oblivion's powerful mutation was through that costly aquatic stasis camber. So, to save the U.S. Government tax dollars for more effective and useful research Embros quickly wanted to cut the Oblivion Project funding and I would have terminated her myself if Mystique and Wanda hadn't interfered by the kidnapping."  
  
Trask turned his back to Flare, "Then there was the matter of Magneto..."  
  
"Magneto? What's he got to do with this?" she questioned.  
  
"Who do you think gave Magneto knowledge of Oblivion's existence and information about her abilities to begin with? Who else, but me," he admitted.  
  
She arched an eyebrow in disbelief, "What?"  
  
"Well, I made sure a few years back that a certain file report about Oblivion's entire history 'accidentally' was found by Magneto. I knew I could trust Magneto to do what I wanted if he had the right indirect manipulation. You see, I despise you and all the other freaks like you in the world! I HATE mutants! In fact, I think they are the worst threat to mankind and an abomination to humanity! If the administrators of Embros and Area 51 weren't so fascinated with experimentation on mutants then I would have rid the world of all your kind myself!" he affirmed.  
  
"But I don't understand-how does Magneto play into this? Why did you choose him to manipulate?" she asked.  
  
"He desired to put humans through terrible suffering if he ever could have enough power, so I made sure to add to the file he found a false implication that Oblivion's shockwaves could be selective in whom they harmed," he said.  
  
"Selective? You mean that she could pick and choose whom her shockwaves harm as they pass through people. That's why Magneto thought she could use a shockwave to hurt only humans!" she realized.  
  
"Exactly," Trask grinned. "But we both know Julia is incapable of 'selective' shockwaves, so of course if she would have been able to release that huge shockwave earlier as Magneto had planned everyone would be wiped out-mutants and humans alike."  
  
"I thought you only hated mutants," she said. "Why would you have wanted to hurt humans, too?"  
  
"I didn't," Trask said, "but it would have been a necessary sacrifice to decrease the mutant population even if it would have cost human lives as well."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Rogue desperately tried to sleep, tossing and turning, but it was useless. She got out of bed late that night. Strange, everyone else in the mansion was anxious to sleep after such a long, horrid day of battling with Magneto and Oblivion. The X-men and Brotherhood had ended up at Xavier's Institute late that night from the battlefield that Times Square had become. All of them were happy to have made it home alive and had commended Rogue countless times for stopping Oblivion, and nearly ended her own life to do so.  
  
Though Rogue didn't feel like her teammates, she didn't feel tired from the fighting, she didn't feel boastful, or overly proud for sacrificing herself. She felt relieved. She was thankful that all of her friends and family were still alive and she was simply glad the whole thing was over, or at least for now it was.  
  
Even with the feeling of such amazing calmness and relief, she was restless. She stealthily strode down the corridor from her room, headed for Remy's. At least she could talk to him at this late hour, since he normally would be up at all sorts of times only to oversleep in the day.  
  
She opened the door at the end of the hall and whispered, "Remy?"  
  
She glanced around Remy's fancy room, though it had become rather messy since he'd settled into Xavier's mansion. She crept over to his bed and saw he wasn't there. She then went onto the balcony; maybe he was out admiring the stars.  
  
"Figured ya were still up," Rogue said as she spotted the Cajun seated on the railing of the balcony.  
  
He was staring at a playing card, as if deep in thought, and at first, it hadn't seemed he had heard her. He looked at her and smiled. Remy gestured for her to sit beside him on the balcony rail, which she did.  
  
The playing card was still in his hands and Rogue stared at it curiously, "What ya been thinkin' 'bout this late at night?"  
  
He paused and kept his eyes on the card. "Seein' y' lyin' on dere an' not movin', it hurt Remy. All dat blood, y' blood, on de ground-when I saw y' dere lifeless I wanted t' die, too," Remy said, his voice grave, his tone holding more pain than Rogue had ever heard from the Cajun since she'd known him.  
  
He made the playing card glow neon orange, "An' den when I saw y' was still breathin', when I saw y' was still alive, I knew how much I really cared 'bout y'."  
  
"Don't-"  
  
"No, let Remy finish," he said sternly, as the card's glow grew increasingly bright. "Y' make me feel like dis card. Before I met y' dere was no charge in dis card, no life in me. But dis card burns wit' energy now, like how I felt after I met y'."  
  
"Remy-"  
  
Despite her attempted protests he continued. "Y' make me feel alive, chèrie, an' t'day I almost lost y'. But if y' can't admit dat y' feel de same way 'bout me an' stop hidin' from y' feelings den I've already lost y'," he said and allowed the card's glow to die out.  
  
"Remy," she said softly and gazed into his crimson on black eyes, "ya'll never loose me."  
  
Suddenly, Remy pulled Rogue to him and made their lips meet.  
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A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!! 


	28. Chapter 28: Absorbed Gifts

THANKS for reviewing!  
  
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Chapter 28: Absorbed Gifts  
  
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Rogue's body was trembling, though she wasn't cold. Her heart was pounding, and her lips were, for a moment, caressed by Remy's. The world was spinning, yet rationally she knew she was firmly seated on the balcony rail.  
  
She pushed Remy's lips from hers. It had only been a moment, but she was shocked in finding that he'd actually kissed her. And she knew his kiss had to have been extraordinary, for it to had been so short, yet so intense.  
  
Rogue sat there, staring blankly at Remy and waited. She was waiting for him to fall over into a coma, or his memories to meld with hers. Though there was nothing, she didn't have his memories, only her own. He wasn't unconscious on the floor, but gazing at her.  
  
Rogue felt confusion and shock flood her. She quickly got off of the rail and ran from Remy's room, retreating to her own. Nothing was making any sense lately. How was Remy still conscious after the kiss? How was she even still alive? Had Irene been wrong about her destiny to die?  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Well, you're wounds will be fine. Still, it's a miracle you're alive with claw tears that deep in your abdomen," Dr. Vender said, as he observed the wound beneath her shirt. "How did you say you got these again, Meg?"  
  
"How interesting that someone who has betrayed me still calls me by my real name," Flare said with bitter sarcasm.  
  
It was the next morning. The rusty blond woman had been forced to remain handcuffed in the interrogation room, as she sat in the chair. Trask had his superiors coming to Embros that afternoon in hopes of persuading them to finalize their decision on ending the Oblivion Project by allowing him to exterminate both Oblivion and Flare; he knew the near enormous destruction Magneto had almost been able to cause with Oblivion would be helpful in winning support for terminating all mutants, instead of compromising.  
  
"I suggested that Trask bring you back to make sure you and Julia were all right," Alex said. "I didn't betray you-"  
  
"No, you just refuse to help me!"  
  
"I told Trask to find you and Julia so you could get help! I didn't know what had happened to you, I was worried and I thought that maybe you weren't going to be able to stop Julia this time," he said.  
  
"No!" Flare protested. "You were afraid! You were afraid of going against what your brother wanted! You have done whatever Trask has wanted for so long that you've forgotten how to stand up to him and have your own mind! Why don't you stop talking about helping me and just do it, damnit!"  
  
Her last few statements had struck Alex deeply. She was right; he had lost the will to challenge his older brother years ago. Dr. Vender pulled a key out of the pocket of his white lab coat and began unlocking the cuffs on her wrists and ankles.  
  
Once she was free of her restraints she hugged Alex. "Thank you, this is the right thing, Alex. No one should be forced to live a caged life here, just like you've always said," she told him.  
  
He nodded and adjusted his glasses so she won't see a tear escape his eye. "I'm going to miss you and Julia around this place," he said.  
  
"No, you won't miss us in this place," she said, "because I'm going to burn it down."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
That same morning at the Institute, Rogue was headed for the infirmary, as Xavier had requested at breakfast. Xavier still wanted Dr. McCoy to do more tests on her with hopes of finding any clue as to how she was alive after what had happened between she and Oblivion.  
  
As she strode down a corridor, Rogue felt the same tingling in her limbs as she had since the moment she'd awakened that morning. She could feel energy rising in her body, but her instincts kept her from allowing it any leeway of being released. Though the longer she tried to ignore and restrain the energy, the more stinging its presence became in her system. She knew what the energy was-power, shockwave power to be precise. Rogue knew that this was the pain Oblivion constantly endured to keep from releasing shockwaves and freeing the throbbing energy inside. She grimaced; she knew soon powers she'd absorbed would be gone, but she felt Oblivion was unfortunate, for she had to live with the side effects of being able to create shockwaves for her entire life.  
  
Suddenly, Rogue saw Kitty, Lance, Kurt and Remy coming from the opposite direction, straight toward her. Rogue wanted to turn and race back to her room; she couldn't see Remy now, she wasn't ready. After the kiss last night, she had been feeling anxious around the Cajun and wanted to avoid him until she could understand her feelings, understand what was happening to her and why she felt so frightened by the kiss he'd given her the night before.  
  
"Hey, Rogue," Kurt greeted, as did the rest of them with the exception of Remy, who simply stared at her.  
  
"Hi, y'all," Rogue said, almost muttering, her eyes desperately trying to focus on Kitty and not wonder off onto Remy's face.  
  
"We're going to the mall, want to, like, come with us?" Kitty asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm gonna get Kitty-cat to buy some skimpy underwear," Lance joked and his girlfriend nudged him.  
  
"Anyway, you vant to go?" Kurt asked.  
  
"Is Remy goin'?" Rogue asked sheepishly.  
  
"Yeah, we're dragging the Cajun along," Lance said. "In case I need any help with getting Kitty to buy me stuff he can just steal it!"  
  
"Lance!" Kitty exclaimed.  
  
"Kidding," he told her.  
  
Rogue glanced at Remy. She grimaced, "No, that's all right. Ah gotta go see Mr. McCoy for some tests 'bout me almost dyin' an'-"  
  
"Ve understand," Kurt said thoughtfully. "Come on, let's go."  
  
"Y' sure y' don' want t' come, chèrie?" Remy asked quietly with hopeful eyes.  
  
"No, Ah gotta go," Rogue said quickly. She left them and continued to the infirmary.  
  
"What was that about?" Kitty wondered.  
  
"Who knows," Lance said, shrugging his shoulders.  
  
"She's acting weird, like Pietro," Kitty said.  
  
"Pietro? Vhat's vrong vith him?" Kurt asked.  
  
"He won't come out of his room," answered Lance. "Last time I talked to him was after Oblivion and Flare were taken away. He's got this thing with Julia and when she left he was pretty torn up about it."  
  
"Mais, it's hard not bein' able t' be wit' someone y' care 'bout," Remy muttered. He paused and started to walk away.  
  
"Hey, Remy, where are you, like, going? I thought you were going to let me help you find a new trench coat," Kitty said.  
  
"Told y' before, petite, de one I got is jus' fine. 'Sides, I got somet'ing else I gotta do," And with that, Remy left them as well.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"That's the last of them, right?" Flare asked, as Dr. Vender's fingers pressed the release codes onto the keys of a door's access bar.  
  
"Yes," Alex confirmed, as mutants poured out of their now opened cells, "that's the last of the test subjects to be set free."  
  
"Good," Flare said and ushered the mutants in the same direction to an escape, as she had done several previous times that day with other captive mutants in Embros. It was early afternoon now and Flare knew she had to hurry.  
  
"Now, Julia's being kept just down the hall in a room with a dark blue, metal door. But you must go quickly, Trask will be headed there with his superiors for their meeting in moments," he informed.  
  
Flare nodded to indicate she understood. "Get out of here, Dr. Vender."  
  
"What!" he exclaimed.  
  
"I told you, this place is going up in flames, don't want you getting caught in the crossfire," she told him. Alex Vender stared at her a moment, and then ran to one of the building's hidden exits as the test subject mutants had done.  
  
Flare strode down the hallway and found the navy colored, metal door Alex had told her about. She formed a fireball in her right palm and drove it directly at the door, which fell from the force with a loud thud.  
  
The scientists in the room all turned from their paperwork and computers at the sound. Oblivion was inside another aquatic stasis camber, similar to the one she had been contained before, but only this particular camber was better designed.  
  
"You can't be in here!" yelled the outraged masculine voice of a scientist.  
  
Flare glared at the scientist, but ignored him. "I suggest you all leave this building unless you want to burn to death," she warned, a fireball blazing in her hand.  
  
The scientists' looked to each other, and then quickly abandoned the room.  
  
Flare went to the aquatic camber and pressed her hand against the glass where Julia's face could be seen. "I'm so sorry," she said, as if her daughter could hear. "You never should've grown up like this."  
  
She went over to the computer that controlled the camber Oblivion was trapped inside and typed in the release codes Dr. Vender had given her earlier. The metal top of the camber broke into two halves and slid apart. Flare climbed up the stairs that led to the opening of it. She pulled Oblivion out of the water by her underarms and onto the small metal balcony that was attached around the camber. The shackles that had been used to control Oblivion were thankfully gone; certainly Embros had the adequate equipment to remove Magneto's manacles from her wrists. Flare shook her daughter.  
  
"Wake up," she said. "Come on, wake up, Julia."  
  
The girl's eyes slowly opened. "Mom?" Julia said confused. "What happened?"  
  
"Don't worry about it, but right now we've got to get out of here," Flare said urgently.  
  
Oblivion sat up straight. "No!" she said grudgingly. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"I just cannot comprehend it!" Hank exclaimed frustrated. His eyes once again scanned the paper of tests' results. "I do not understand why nothing I've tried has worked, there has to be a reason why Rogue is still breathing. After that fall with Oblivion both of them should have suffered severe brain trauma, not to mention most, if not all, of their bones broken! It should have killed them!"  
  
"Well, perhaps it was simply a miracle, have you thought of that possibility?" Irene asked, as she leaned on a counter across from Hank while he sat in front of his computer.  
  
"Look, we're gettin' nowhere, so can Ah go now? All these tests are makin' me nuts!" Rogue complained, as she sat on the metal table; the painful tingle of Oblivion's power was still trying to claw out of her body and lessening her patience for answers Hank seemed to not have.  
  
Hank sighed, "I suppose you can."  
  
Rogue slid off of the table, but she wasn't paying attention and her hand slipped onto the top of a nearby cart covered with lab tools.  
  
"Ouch!" she yelped and instinctively pulled her hand away from the scalpel it had accidentally scraped against, which had laid atop the cart.  
  
She stared at her hand and it was slowly seething with blood. "Oh great," Rogue muttered sarcastically.  
  
Hank sighed as he put away some files inside his desk, "Well, Rogue, you should be more careful in here. You know there is normally dangerous equipment around this room-"  
  
Rogue looked more closely at her hand, "Um, Dr. McCoy-"  
  
"I'm serious, Rogue. When you are in the lab, there are certain safety rules-"  
  
"Dr. McCoy-"  
  
Though he continued, as if her voice was not in his audible range, "And procedures to be followed with caution and care because-"  
  
"Henry!" Irene exclaimed. "Let the girl speak."  
  
"What?" Hank said, as if just regaining his hearing.  
  
"Mah hand," Rogue said, staring at the palm of the one she had cut moments ago and held it up for Hank to see.  
  
"Oh my stars and garters!" Hank exclaimed in surprise, watching as her wound was quickly healing until there was no trace of a cut at all.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"I hate you!" Julia yelled at her mother.  
  
"What?" Flare said confused.  
  
"I hate you! My whole life you allowed those scientists to prick and poke at me like some sort of guinea pig! I didn't even have much time as a normal child since they accelerated my growth! I had no childhood!" Oblivion said angrily. "And then, remember South America? That was the one time I'd ever been able to escape, which was before they built the aquatic camber to hold me, and you took me back to them! You betrayed me!"  
  
Flare shook her head, "No, I didn't betray you. I thought it was better if you stayed in the mutation-suppressing prison. You had absolutely no control over your shockwaves back then and I thought you would hurt yourself, or someone else, if you weren't in a controlled environment."  
  
"You made sure my whole life was 'controlled'! Well, now I want some control over my own life-my own destiny! You don't need to always protect me like I'm a little girl anymore!"  
  
Flare sighed and looked at her daughter, observing the young woman Julia was growing to become. She saw her daughter wasn't a child like the one she had to protect from scientists and soldiers years ago.  
  
There was a pause.  
  
She embraced Julia, "Forgive me."  
  
"Does this mean you'll stop overprotecting me now?" Oblivion asked with a smile.  
  
Flare pulled away and stared at her, "I'm not making promises, but I'll try."  
  
"Flare!" Trask yelled in surprise, as he entered the room with soldiers in tow; his superiors, the three aged owners of Embros, not far behind. "Well, now I know who let all our test mutants escape."  
  
"Julia, get out of here. I'll handle them," Flare said.  
  
"No," Oblivion protested. "You said you were going to 'try' to stop treating me like a child, remember? I'm staying here and I'm going to help you fight."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"But how was Rogue able to heal?" Irene asked Hank.  
  
Dr. McCoy shook his head and let out a discouraged sigh. "I don't know," he said incredulously.  
  
"Yeah, how did this happen? Ah couldn't heal before, not even with Carol's powers-this is more Logan's style," Rogue said.  
  
"Wait," Hank said, arriving at a revelation, "before you absorbed Oblivion you didn't have this ability, correct?"  
  
"Yeah," Rogue confirmed.  
  
"And Logan has chartless regeneration capabilities-"  
  
"Yeah, so?"  
  
"So, Oblivion IS Logan's daughter, after all," Hank said.  
  
"Are you saying Julia has the same healing factor as her father?" Irene asked.  
  
"Yes, but I doubt it's as high as Logan's level. Still, it is possible that she has a good measure of regenerative aptitude. Rogue absorbed Oblivion. As with all the people Rogue touches she gained Oblivion's memories and her mutations for a short while," Hank said. "Therefore, when both of them fell from such a great distance in the sky they were able to survive since both of them withheld healing abilities at the time."  
  
"That's quite a theory," Irene remarked.  
  
"It's more than a theory, I'm nearly positive that's what has occurred. You see it was only yesterday that Rogue had absorbed Oblivion. And just now when Rogue had cut her hand it healed instantly, which would be sensible because her time having Oblivion's powers hasn't run out yet," he explained. "Within another day, maybe even by tonight the powers Rogue had temporarily taken will be gone."  
  
"But wait a minute, why don' Ah have the power t' make shockwaves like Oblivion did?" Rogue questioned.  
  
"Have you tried to create one?" he asked.  
  
"No," Rogue replied and placed her palm out in front of her, aimed at the cart that she'd cut herself on. She felt a hot, intense energy surge threw her and blue light burst from her palm; the explosion of bright energy from her hand blasted the cart apart and scattered the utensils that had been setting atop it all over the room. Rogue immediately felt exhaustion overtake her body after freeing the contained energy; she wondered if it was the way Oblivion had felt when releasing shockwaves.  
  
"Well, apparently you can create a shockwave. Though you probably shouldn't. I'm sure if you attempted to summon another shockwave you couldn't control it like Oblivion has been trained years to do," he said.  
  
Rogue paused, "Is it possible that Oblivion somehow gave me the ability t' control mah own powers?"  
  
Hank stared at her strangely. Rogue slipped off one of her gloves. She reached out and touched his furry, blue arm with her bare hand. He blinked in surprise. Nothing. There was no pain, no absorbing, only the normal feeling of skin contact. She quickly pulled her hand away.  
  
"How do ya explain that, Dr. McCoy?" she asked.  
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A/N: This story's almost through, and y'all PLEASE REVIEW!!! 


	29. Chapter 29: Home

THANKS for the reviews!!!  
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Chapter 29: Home  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"They've caused enough problems! Kill them both!" Trask ordered his soldiers.  
  
The unit of military men rushed forward at Oblivion and Flare. Oblivion leapt from the top of the small balcony that was rimmed around the aquatic camber and floated in mid-air. Flare jumped downward to the floor with a skilled landing and primed her palms to form flames. As Oblivion hovered in the air, she plunged blue light from her palm into the opening of the camber. Even though the mental of the camber was sturdy it couldn't withhold a shockwave so strongly concentrated, causing it to explode and the huge amount of water that had been contained inside washed over the soldiers.  
  
The soldiers quickly jumped to their feet again, drenched in water, and holding up their guns defensively.  
  
"On my command, shoot them," Trask told his men, glaring at both Oblivion and Flare. "Fire!"  
  
"If you say so," Flare quipped with a sly grin and threw monstrously large flaming spheres at the soldiers, as they tried to shoot at her and Julia.  
  
One of Flare's fireballs missed a soldier and instead collided with the floor near some loose wiring of electrical equipment behind the troops. Sparks started to fly from the machine as the flames of the fireball began to spread onto the wires and smoke from the fire triggered an alarm to start its wailing.  
  
"Where are you going?!" Trask exclaimed as he saw his superiors quickly leaving.  
  
"We're getting out of here," replied one of the owners of Embros, an elderly man with thinning hair, dressed in an expensive gray suit. "If you think we're going to stay here while those two destroy this place and possibly themselves then you have gone mad, Trask! Flare and Oblivion are your mess, you clean it up, but we're getting out of here!"  
  
The three Embros owners rushed out of the lab room, exiting the facility along with other scientists in the building, who had been alerted by the fire alarm.  
  
"You must've hit one of those wires with your fireballs," Julia realized as the alarm continued to echo in her ears. "We've got to get out of here!"  
  
Oblivion swiftly floated down to the ground beside her mother. Flare was constantly propelling fireballs around the room at the soldiers and at Trask, whom they were protecting.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere until I get to Trask! He robbed you of a childhood and kept your father from us, I'm not leaving until he's dead!" Flare protested. "Ahhh!"  
  
One of the bullets from a soldier's gun had grazed Flare's shoulder. Though it stung, she tried to ignore the pain in her now slightly bloody shoulder and continued battling the soldiers.  
  
"Julia, do you have enough strength to make a force field with your shockwaves like you did at the Delegates' Ball?" Flare asked.  
  
"Yeah, but-"  
  
"Listen, when I give you the signal you have to create a strong force field around us, all right? Our lives depend on it, so can you do it?" Flare questioned with urgency and graveness.  
  
"Yes," Oblivion replied, but with uncertainty, "I can."  
  
Flare swallowed hard in her throat, "You'd better get ready for this, Embros is going to explode."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Amazing!" Hank remarked. "After all your sessions with Xavier there was no change in your condition, but only a couple of days after absorbing Oblivion, and you have acquired complete control."  
  
"Yeah," Rogue said, being shocked herself, "but how am Ah able t' touch after jus' absorbin' Oblivion once? What power does she have that's allows me t' do this?"  
  
"No," Irene said, "it's not barrowing Oblivion's powers that's changed you- Rogue, you have changed yourself."  
  
Rogue lifted an eyebrow, "What?"  
  
"Don't you see?" Irene said. "I foresaw your determination when you fought Carol Danvers for control over your own body, I foresaw your maturity and selflessness when you were willing to sacrifice yourself to stop Oblivion. Don't you understand? Enduring all these battles has contributed to your strength of mind. You could always touch, Rogue, but you had to get pass your own mental block. And you were growing mentally stronger with each battle and with the support of others that care about you, so now you have been able to surpass that block of your own disbelief in yourself. You can touch because you've finally found full and complete confidence in your own abilities."  
  
There was a pause. Rogue was trying to understand what Irene was wisely telling her. *All this time, after all the sessions wit' the professor an' tryin' t' keep mah distance from people that care 'bout me the most, an' Ah could touch all along if woulda jus' believed in mahself-jus' like how Ah learned t' control mah flyin' ability! But Remy...how'd he know Ah could control mah absorbin' now? Or did he really know Ah could when he kissed me? Ah've gotta find him! *  
  
"Thanks y'all!" Rogue said and hugged both Hank and Irene. Then she rushed out of the infirmary.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Logan hurriedly walked down the steps of the grand staircase in Xavier's Institute. His eyes searched around to make sure there was no sign of anyone. *Good. No one to stop me this time, * he thought and as his hand reached to turn the knob of the front door, he felt a strong force halt him from any further movement.  
  
Don't, Logan, Xavier's telepathic, stern voice came into the dark haired man's mind.  
  
Logan growled and mumbled beneath his breath. Don't what? I've got to save them! I know Flare and Oblivion are in trouble-I can feel it in my gut! he protested.  
  
So, you're just going to fly to Nevada in the Blackbird, storm into Embros and kill everyone you see until you find them?  
  
That's the plan, Logan responded simply to Xavier's sarcasm. This is the third time you've stopped me from leaving, Chuck! I can't just sit here and do nothing! Trask said he would return them today and he hasn't. I'm going to bring them back myself, I don't care what you think!  
  
But Trask didn't say exactly when he would return them, and we don't even know that they're actually being harmed, Logan. You could just cause a massacre at Embros for no reason, and I cannot allow you to do that, Xavier said.  
  
Logan felt a sudden irresistible urge to turn away from the door and gait calmly back upstairs to his room. He growled inwardly in realization, the telepath was controlling his actions and once again, he would be unable to go find Flare and Oblivion. *I hate that Chuck can do that! *  
  
Listen, Logan, we'll give Trask one more hour to turn up with Flare and Oblivion. If they are not here within that time, then I will assemble our teams and we will bring them back, all right? Xavier asked.  
  
Logan clenched his teeth, he didn't want to wait-he wanted them back now. Still, in any case, it would be better to have a whole team of mutants to help him fight off Embros' security than him doing so alone. All right. Trask has got less than an hour, if their not back here by then and he's hurt them, I'm going to tear him to shreds, no matter how hard you try to stop me, Chuck.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The wires that had caught fire began to whip around eccentrically and electric sparks started to shimmer like drops of sunrays as they sprang from equipment plugs. The fire was spreading rapidly over the wires causing the soldiers to become apprehensive about finishing their battle with Flare and Oblivion.  
  
"We should get out of here! This place is going to blow any minute!" one soldier said as his gun unloaded its bullets in attempts to at shooting Flare, but could not make it passed the impact of the fireballs she'd throw in their path.  
  
"No!" Trask said. "All of you hold your positions! If we die at least that mutant bitch Flare and her bastard child will burn with us! I refuse to leave and give her a chance to get out of here alive!"  
  
"Sir, have you gone insane!" said another soldier.  
  
"Do as I command!" Trask yelled and pushed a soldier in front of him as he saw a fireball headed in his direction. The soldier was immediately set on fire and screamed painfully as he burnt to death.  
  
"I'm getting out of here!" said one soldier and pushed his way through the large group of troops, then out the door. Others of the military group quickly followed.  
  
"Come back here!" Trask yelled at his men, but they continued to evacuate the building.  
  
"You ready?" Flare asked, a fireball forming in her palm.  
  
Oblivion nodded, but hesitantly.  
  
Flare thrust the fireball forward and aimed it for the wires that had already begun to spark and spurt with flames.  
  
BOOM!!!  
  
Once the fireball made contact with the electrical wires it exploded only to ignite another, much larger explosion, which engulfed all of Embros.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Remy strode slowly into the hotel room. It was a small, bare, beige colored room that included hardly any furniture, but it had been cheap enough for him to afford at least a few days away from the Xavier Institute. He hadn't wanted to leave the Institute, but it hurt him too much that since the kiss Rogue constantly avoided him.  
  
He did realize the danger in having kissed Rogue last night-he'd actually had his skin against hers, which could have caused him to be forced into a coma, or possibly death. Strangely, she hadn't absorbed him, and though he forced himself to believe it was a fluke of some kind, and he shouldn't get his hopes up, he couldn't help wondering if she'd finally learned to control her powers.  
  
He shook his head absently; there was no reason to be wishful thinking when Rogue wouldn't go near him. He plopped down on the edge of the bed and it made a light creaking sound of rusted metal grating together inside the mattress under his weight. He lay back on the thin, course comforter of the bed and grimaced as bitter thoughts struck him. *What's de point? Why try t' love her when she don' want t' be loved? Why even bother if she can't even admit how she feels? *  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Pietro bolted upward in bed. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand of his plushy room in Xavier's Institute. It was 4:30 in the afternoon. Something was wrong; he could feel it. He could sense it in the pit of his stomach that something had happened to Julia.  
  
Julia, the girl he'd affectionately nicknamed Jules; he missed her so much. He had been sulking inside his room most of the day, thinking of her, longing for her. He was sure now, though he had been tentative before, he was beginning to have strong feelings for her that he'd thought were impossible for him to have.  
  
Though he knew something was amiss. Those military people and Trask had promised they'd release Oblivion and Flare, but he hadn't believed them then and he certainly didn't now. He got off of his bed and zipped out of his room.  
  
"Hey!" Logan shouted angrily, as he instinctively evaded a strong gust whipping passed him in the corridor.  
  
Pietro stopped and turned to face the older man.  
  
"Where are you goin' in such a hurry?" Logan asked, slightly curious.  
  
"To see Xavier. Something's happened, I know it," Pietro replied.  
  
"Something's happened? To who?"  
  
"Oblivion and Flare, something's just not right," Pietro said.  
  
Logan's eyebrows furred a moment. *That's it! I can't wait any longer! * He growled, "If Trask has done any thing to them I'll-"  
  
"Yeah, me too, but let's find them first," Pietro recommended and Logan nodded. The two headed for Xavier's office.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Kitty, have ya seen Remy around?" Rogue asked anxiously, as she entered the living room.  
  
"No, have you asked Kurt?" Kitty queried.  
  
The gothic girl let out a frustrated sigh. "Ah've asked everyone! Nobody knows where he is! He's jus' gone!" Rogue exclaimed.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous, Rogue. He's, like, somewhere. He'll be back soon," Kitty reassured her.  
  
*Ah hope so, * Rogue thought.  
  
"Hey, why did you want to, like, see him anyway?" Kitty inquired.  
  
The gothic girl sighed, "Because Ah-"  
  
"Rogue," Mystique interjected, coming into the room. "Can I talk with you a moment?"  
  
Rogue glared at her mother. "Look, Ah'm busy right now, okay?" she said irritably.  
  
"It'll just take a second," Mystique pressed. "Please, Rogue."  
  
Rogue chewed her bottom lip a moment and sighed. "All right, but make it quick," she said and followed her mother to the porch at the front of the mansion.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The smoke steadily began to absolve. The sky was bright overhead where the ceiling was no more. All that remained of Embros were the charred remnants of walls, floors, ceilings, cages and equipment, which had been completely dismantled by the explosion. Small fires were flagging in a few places of the rubble, the flames dwindling as droplets of rain began falling from the sky.  
  
Flare observed the ruined facility without any traces of remorse in her sparkling amber eyes. Embros had been a prison and now that it was destroyed, along with its gatekeeper Trask, finally, she and her daughter were free.  
  
Flare and Oblivion stood in the mists of the wreckage and were unable to taste the smoke as a large sphere, an azure-tinted force field, surrounded them. Thankfully, Oblivion had been able to create a strong enough force field that had protected them once the explosion had occurred.  
  
"Let's go home," Flare said.  
  
Oblivion stared at her mother, "But we've lived here most of our lives. Where is home?"  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Please, calm down," Xavier said, as he sat behind his office's desk. Both Wolverine and Quicksilver were standing agitatedly before him.  
  
"Now listen, Chuck, I can't just wait and hope Trask will keep his word! Trask and his lackeys are probably torturing a woman I care a hell of a lot about and my own daughter right now! And all you can do is tell me to calm down!" Logan yelled, the volume of his voice at nearly a raging level, yet it was truly anger masking his fear and frustration. "I'll feel a lot damn calmer when I get them back! Look, I didn't come to you for permission to find them-just try to find their location and we'll get them back ourselves!"  
  
"Yeah, because we don't know what those military crazies in Nevada could be doing to them!" Pietro added.  
  
"I'm sure Oblivion and Flare would appreciate your concern, but I know they're fine," Xavier said.  
  
"How can you be so sure!" Pietro exclaimed.  
  
Xavier sighed, "Because-"  
  
Charles? came a voice into the telepath's mind.  
  
Flare, is that you? Xavier asked.  
  
Yes. Julia and I are fine. I bet Logan's losing his mind about now though! Flare said, and chuckled aloud.  
  
Xavier looked at the creases in Logan's uneasy expressions. Actually, he is a bit worried. He was just urging me to assemble our teams and free you and Oblivion from Trask.  
  
Honestly, I care about Logan, but that man worries too much. He should know by know I can take care of myself, Flare said, but more so to herself. Look, it's going to be awhile to get from Nevada to New York and right now Julia and I have just boarded a plane, so we should be there in a few hours. We'll be at the Institute soon, but there is a possibility of a delay, so if we don't get there by tonight then it'll be early tomorrow.  
  
Good. I'll inform the others and look forward to seeing you and Oblivion soon then. he said.  
  
And, Charles...thank you for allowing my daughter and I to stay with you, we really don't have anyplace to go now since we've always lived at Embros.  
  
Think nothing of it, Meg was the last thought Xavier sent out.  
  
"Why did you get so quiet all of a sudden?" Pietro asked the telepath confused.  
  
"Yeah, are you sensing anything, Chuck? Did something happen?" Logan asked anxiously.  
  
"Well, there is no need to be troubled about Flare and Oblivion's safety. They are taking a train from Nevada tonight and should be here by tomorrow morning at the latest," Xavier informed.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
It was mid-afternoon as stars were beginning to faintly materialize in the sky. Rogue plopped down onto the swing that hung from the porch 's ceiling. Mystique stood before her and spoke with a calmness and sincerity she had never heard her mother use prior to then.  
  
"I've never been proud of more than half the things I've done," Mystique began, "and change hasn't been an easy concept for me in the past, but I know now that the only thing I've ever been truly proud of in my life was you and Kurt."  
  
Rogue could hear honesty in the shapeshifter's voice, but she still had some faint resentment left in her heart for her mother. "So, what exactly did ya call me out here for?" Rogue questioned impatiently.  
  
Mystique sighed. "I wanted to know if you'd allow me to be your mother again," she replied.  
  
"Ya already talked t' Kurt?" Rogue queried.  
  
"Yes, I had spoken to him about this earlier after he and the others had gotten back from the mall," Mystique said.  
  
"An' what'd he say?"  
  
"He forgives me," Mystique said, "but can you?"  
  
Rogue took a long pause, considering her mother's words. Mystique had done so much; she had betrayed, lied, and caused both her children needless pain. Was it even possible to forgive such terrible deeds? Could Rogue even have faith that Mystique truly wanted to change? She had always been one person Rogue learned not to depend on or trust.  
  
Although, Mystique had been there through the whole battle with Magneto and Oblivion, side by side with the X-men and Brotherhood. She had been as worried as Rogue was when Kurt had gotten hurt and deeply upset when she thought Rogue was going to die. *Maybe she is capable o' changin'. Ah guess Ah should at least give her a chance, * Rogue thought.  
  
"Ah guess Ah could forgive ya, too," Rogue decided.  
  
A few tears of happiness came from blue-skinned woman's eyes as she embraced her daughter. Rogue was still shocked that she'd seen her mother cry more in the past few days than in previous years.  
  
"Thank you for letting us start over," Raven said.  
  
Rogue smiled slightly as her mother released her. "Well, Ah gotta go now," she said.  
  
"Go? Where?" Mystique asked.  
  
"Ah've gotta see Remy. Ah've been tryin' t' find him, but it's almost like he jus' up an' disappeared. Ya see, there's somethin' important that's happened," Rogue said.  
  
"What?" Mystique asked curiously.  
  
Rogue carefully slid one of her gloves off. She reached up and wiped away one of Raven's tears of joy. "Ah have control now. Ah can touch," Rogue told her mother smiling. *Ah jus' hope Remy will come home soon, so Ah can tell him, too. *  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
A/N: Well, just so y'all know, next chap will be my last chap for this story and PLEASE REVIEW!!! 


	30. Chapter 30: Destiny Fulfilled

THANKS to everyone who reviewed!!! This is my last chapter for this story and I hope y'all enjoy it! (Hope this ain't too mushy for anybody-lol!)  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 30: Destiny Fulfilled  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The next morning Oblivion and Flare entered the living room of Xavier's Institute after finally ending their long train trip from Nevada to New York. The X-men and Brotherhood were in the room as well, cordially welcoming their return.  
  
Oblivion rushed straight to the Brotherhood boys and hugged each of them tightly.  
  
"We've missed you, Julia. All of us were worried," Lance said.  
  
"What about you, Pietro?" she asked, noticing that the silver haired boy was standing a bit away from the group. "Did you miss me, too?"  
  
"I barely knew you were gone, Jules," Pietro said in an arrogant tone that he hoped hid the strange, powerful emotions he felt by seeing her again.  
  
"Are you kidding!" Todd exclaimed. "Pietro was a mess without you! He wouldn't even come out of his room all day yesterday, yo! He kept moping around and-"  
  
"Shut up, Todd!" Pietro yelled and two began disputing.  
  
Oblivion smiled; nothing had changed while she had been separated from the Brotherhood boys. She took a few steps closer to Pietro and smiled gently at him. "Well, I missed you," she admitted.  
  
Fred purposely nudged Pietro forward, which caused the silver haired boy's lips meet Oblivion's as he tumbled onto her from the force of the push. Lance, Todd, Fred, and the X-men burst into laughter at the sight.  
  
"Hey, Wanda, why don't we follow Pietro and Julia's example?" Todd asked with a brood grin as the girl in a scarlet coat sat on a comfy, coffee- colored chair near him.  
  
Wanda made a brief half smile. Then she used her powers to hoist Todd into the air, spin him around and thrust him into a wall. More laughter erupted from the mutants in the room, as Todd shakily stood up, rubbing the backside of his head.  
  
"Don't worry, baby, I don't give up easy," Todd said, still grinning at Wanda.  
  
Flare stood across from Wanda and Todd, her eyes narrowed at Pietro. She watched as Pietro quickly lifted himself from atop Oblivion and then helped her to stand again.  
  
"I don't like that boy," Flare muttered to Logan, her arms crossing over her chest.  
  
Logan noted the look of overprotective, motherly concern set on the reddish blond woman's expressions and stance. "Don't worry, darlin', I'll cut Pietro to pieces if he breaks my daughter's heart," he said, partly joking.  
  
Flare sighed, "I'm sorry for not telling you about our daughter when I first remembered it. You had a right to know about her."  
  
He shook his head, "That doesn't matter now, Meg. I'm just glad to have you both here, safe and sound."  
  
"I didn't tell you before, but after all these years, I've missed you, too," she said. Her lips touched against Logan's; she smiled as she pulled away and saw her daughter coming toward them.  
  
"Logan, this is our daughter Julia..." Flare introduced with slight excitement detectable in her voice. "And Julia, this is your father."  
  
Oblivion felt a rush of nervousness go through her as she stood before the dark haired man. *What do I even say to him? * She looked to her mother for assistance, though only found a knowing smile upon Flare's face. Her eyes returned to the man in front of her and she suddenly felt like a lost child that had found her home. She rushed forward and embraced Logan's stiff form.  
  
Logan's initial shock at her sudden action soon faded and the tense muscles of his body gradually relaxed. Oblivion pulled away from him and placed her hands on her hips in the way he remembered Flare had sometimes done in the past; a sly smile formed on her lips that remarkably resembled Logan's own grin.  
  
"If we're going to get to know each other, you're going to have to loosen up... Dad," Julia said.  
  
Flare saw the pride and slight amusement in Logan's features at the sound of Julia calling him her father for the first time. Flare glanced around her at the shared humor and happiness amongst the mutants, both X-men and Brotherhood together, but then she caught a glimpse of Rogue, who seemed to be the only one lonely and miserable.  
  
The rusty blond haired woman strode over to Rogue and sat down beside her on the couch. "What's wrong?" Flare asked.  
  
"It's Remy," Rogue replied, her emerald eyes shinning with tears. "Ah haven't seen him yesterday or at all this mornin'. Ah never told him how Ah really felt, Flare. Now Ah can touch, but he's not around an' Ah'm afraid he's gone for good!"  
  
"Don't worry, Rogue, I'm sure he just wanted a break. I mean, there has been quite a lot going on lately, you know," Flare reasoned.  
  
"No, ya don't understand. Ah kept pushin' him away an' Ah never had the guts t' tell him how much Ah cared," Rogue said.  
  
Flare smiled and glanced at Logan. "If he cares about you as much as I think he does, I'm sure he already knows how you feel. Think about places he would be, you'll find him.....or maybe he'll find you," she said.  
  
Rogue nodded. Suddenly, an idea struck her. "Ah think Ah know where he is! Thanks, Meg!" she said and quickly left the mansion.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Rogue entered the diner called Rene's, the same place she and Remy had gone several times on their dates together. Her eyes searched the booths desperately, though there was no sign of the Cajun. She stopped a waitress who was scurrying across her path with plates of food in both hands.  
  
"Excuse me, has there been a guy wit' red an' black eyes here?" Rogue questioned with hopeful eyes.  
  
The waitress nodded. "Yeah, I remember him. He was here all afternoon yesterday. This morning he'd ordered a cup of coffee and then left. You just missed him," she replied.  
  
Rogue sighed frustrated. "Thanks," she said and hastily departed from Rene's.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"Embros is destroyed and Flare and Oblivion are assumed to have died in its explosion," Sabertooth reported. He was inside a metal office of an underground base in London, England, which was the location of another one of Magneto's many strewn safe houses across the globe.  
  
"Do you think they're really dead?" Pyro asked.  
  
"Of course they're not!" Magneto said pointedly. A shadow from the dim lighting of the room was cast over the magnetic master, hiding his angry and disappointed expression. "Although, it does not matter whether they are alive or dead. What happened with Oblivion has caused merely a delay for the completion of my plans."  
  
"What do you mean?" Pyro inquired.  
  
"I mean, you imbecile, that this is not over!" Magneto said. "Soon I will finish this war and humans will not be the ones to prevail."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
That afternoon Remy wandered into his room at Xavier's Institute. He had just come from Xavier's office after enduring a lecture from the professor for not coming home last night and worrying everyone. Last night, Remy had been upset about Rogue's reactions toward him after their kiss; she wouldn't speak to him, or even look at him, so he had decided to stay a night away from the Institute-away from Rogue-until he could figure out if it was even worth it to continue pursuing his love for her anymore. Although, now that he'd returned from his stay at a cheap New York hotel and was back at the Institute he still didn't know what he should do.  
  
He let himself fall onto his bed and shuffled his playing cards. *I care 'bout Rogue, I want t' be wit' her, but why try when she refuses t' love me back? It's almost as if she never heard me say how much I care for her an' need her, so why bother? Is it even worth it? * he thought. He paused and picked a playing card from the deck. He forced it to glow orange. He remembered what he'd told her before he'd kissed her.  
  
*** "Before I met y' dere was no charge in dis card, no life in me. But dis card burns wit' energy now, like how I felt after I met y'." ***  
  
He smiled slightly. * 'Cause I love her, dat's why. Dat's why it's worth it. *  
  
"Hey, Cajun, I am glad to see you've come back," Piotr's voice interrupted Remy's thoughts.  
  
Remy made the glow of the card fade until it vanished. He sat up and watched as the colossal mutant entered the room. Piotr crossed his arms as he stood before the younger man.  
  
"So, y' stayin' at de Institute now, too, eh?" Remy asked.  
  
"Da, I want to stay a while in America and this is the only place I have to go. I'm going to eventually return to Russia, but for now this is my home," Piotr said. He paused. "Rogue is looking everywhere for you. Right now she's searching all over New York because she doesn't even know you're back yet."  
  
Remy grimaced, but did not comment.  
  
Piotr ignored the Cajun's silence and continued. "She's been trying to find you to tell you something important," he said.  
  
"Important?" Remy repeated curiously.  
  
Piotr chuckled a little at Remy's sudden interest. "I'll let her tell you when she gets back," Piotr said. He began heading toward the room's exit. "I know you care for Rogue very much-don't let her go, Remy." And with that, Piotr left.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Rogue entered the Xavier Institute. She had been looking almost all day for Remy and had just returned that night from her search. She hadn't found Remy and decided it would be better to restart her hunt for him tomorrow after she'd rested. She tiredly began to head upstairs to her room.  
  
"Rogue," came a gentle, yet vigorous voice.  
  
She turned around to find a young girl with blond, red-stranded hair and golden brown eyes staring back at her from the foot of the staircase.  
  
"Oblivion," Rouge acknowledged.  
  
"I just wanted to thank you," Julia said.  
  
"Thank me? For what?" Rogue wondered.  
  
"For stopping me. In a way, you saved me from myself, and from Magneto's control. If it hadn't been for you I might have destroyed my mother, a father I'm just starting to know and the home I'm beginning to have here," Oblivion replied.  
  
Rogue half smiled. "Ya welcome," she said and paused. "Ah'm glad the professor's lettin' ya stay here-when Ah absorbed ya memories Ah saw what they did t' ya at Embros an' nobody deserves what happened t' ya there."  
  
Julia nodded. "Goodnight," she said.  
  
"G'night," Rogue said. She half smiled. "An' good luck with havin' Logan for ya father!"  
  
Rogue could hear Oblivion chuckling at her last comment as she turned and continued upstairs. When Rogue reached her room she didn't bother to turn the light on, she just slipped off her boots and threw her weary body onto her bed.  
  
"Where are ya, Remy?" she whispered into the darkness of her room.  
  
She felt a cold wind brush across her and saw the glass door of the balcony was open. She went to the door and strode over the threshold. She stood on the balcony, admiring the night sky. The full moon and radiant stars seemed to cast a glow on the place where she stood.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"You couldn't sleep either, I see," Irene said as Flare stepped out onto the patio of the mansion.  
  
Mystique and Irene were seated in chairs and Flare carefully seated herself on the porch swing between them.  
  
"Yeah, well, Logan was snoring a little too loudly for me to get a moment's peace," Flare joked with a light chuckle.  
  
"Are you still angry with me, Meg?" Mystique asked hesitantly.  
  
Flare stared at the blue-skinned woman a while before answering. "If you're asking if I'm angry that you've lied and betrayed me countless times, then yes, I am. But I know now that you do actually have a heart. You and I have one thing in common, Raven-our love for our children. When we thought Rogue and Julia had died you were just as upset as I was, and I'd never seen that side of you before. Besides, I can't be angry with you when I've done much worse myself in the past," Flare said, staring out into the darkness of the night with a light from a nearby window of the mansion creating soft shadows of the three women on the polished-wood patio floor.  
  
Mystique smiled slightly. "I'm surprised, I remembered you being more likely to hold grudges not too long ago-being back with Logan must be making you go soft," she teased.  
  
"Love can make you do that," Flare muttered softly. She looked at Irene, who had been mysteriously silent. "You don't see Magneto planning another attack in the next few days, do you? Is he gone?"  
  
"I'm not quite sure if he's completely gone. I am sure, however, he will be leaving New York if he has not done so already. The future is vague, but I do see him going to some far off place, and whether he will someday return, I do not know yet," Irene replied.  
  
"What about the fate you had foreseen for Rogue?" Mystique asked. "She's not dead."  
  
"My vision still was correct. Rogue and Julia did die-even if only for a short while-and the oblivion that could have destroyed us was stopped. Rogue and Oblivion's destiny has been fulfilled and for now, it's over."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Rogue felt a gloved hand on her shoulder. She spun around. "Remy!" she cried and embraced him fiercely. She pulled away and punched his arm. "Don' ya dare go missin' on me again!"  
  
He smiled a moment, but it quickly faded. "Sorry, but had t' t'ink 'bout some t'ings alone for a while," he said. "I need y' t' tell me what y' feel, chèrie. Y' know how much I care 'bout y', but I don' want our relationship t' be like dis an' don't t'ink y' do either."  
  
"Ya right," Rogue said, "Ah don't. Remy, Ah know Ah've not been lettin' ya really be part o' mah life an' Ah've never been allowin' ya t' get close t' me. The truth is that lately Ah've been afraid t' tell ya how Ah feel. Ah was scared that once Ah fully gave mah heart t' ya that somehow ya'd leave me."  
  
He shook his head, "But Rogue, Remy would never-"  
  
"Ah know," Rogue said. "And ya need t' know that Ah ain't afraid no more, Remy."  
  
She leaned forward and her lips fell upon Remy's, her mouth passionately molding with his. She shuddered as the searing sensations she'd felt from their first kiss instantly returned, she felt her knees enfeeble and the world spin. Not questioning why she could kiss him without causing him to become comatose, Remy's lips fiercely pressed hers, and a small moan escaped her mouth, as his tongue began wrestling with her own. After a few moments, Rogue forced herself to pull away so she could speak and her eyes found a stunned expression on the Cajun's face.  
  
"When did y'...how did y'?" he nearly stammered in confusion, steadily regaining his senses and breath after the kiss.  
  
She placed a finger over his lips. "Ah know it's 'cause o' you. Ya are the reason Ah've finally been able t' grow an' trust an' believe in mahself t' do things Ah thought were impossible," she said and her bare, soft hand stroked his face. "Ah love ya, Remy."  
  
"I love y', too, chèrie," he said. He made a small bow and his mouth curved into an enchanting grin. "May Remy have dis dance?"  
  
Rogue grinned. Her limbs draped around his neck, as his arms tightly enveloped her petite waist; Rogue smiled at the memory of the dances they'd shared before. The two of them drifted over the balcony's floor beneath the pale moon's gleam.  
  
"Don' ya ever leave me like ya did last night again, Remy," she said softly. "Ah don' want t' lose ya, Ah love ya too much, y'know."  
  
"Couldn't lose Remy if y' tried..." he said, his crimson on black eyes amorously gazing into her emerald orbs, "not even if y' tried, ma chèrie."  
  
*One thing Irene didn't predict is how much Ah'd love this swamp rat! * Rogue thought smiling as his lips began to touch hers again. *Remy was always mah heart's destiny. *  
________________________________________________________________________  
A/N: Well, thank y'all for reading and reviewing my story Destined Oblivion. All I ask is if y'all send me a review for this chap then just tell me if this was at least a good story for my first fan fiction and also if you would like to see more of my work in the future.  
  
Sinnerstar Angel (Cam:. Much love & Chao!) 


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